DC Gothic - Justice League
by gothicjedi666
Summary: The follow up of DC Gothic - Teen Titans. Gothic is now in the Justice League and is attempting to settle into his new life alongside Kara (Supergirl) But things don't always go smoothly for our sort of hero. The Traveller once more decides to amuse himself, by messing with his favourite person. Also Raven and her goddess have plans of their own.
1. Chapter 1

**DC Gothic - Mae'r Ddraig Gymreig**

**Metropolis – Downtown – October 2002 **

There was a good reason why so many people lived in Gotham. It might have a major crime problem to say the least, but that did keep the house prices down and you didn't have to worry so much about super beings destroying your home or place of business. In contrast Metropolis, even in the poorer neighbourhoods, enjoyed a much lower crime rate. However repeatedly rebuilding entire city blocks was expensive and the home insurance rates kept more than a few people up at night. Sure you might not need to worry about getting mugged or robbed so much in Metropolis, but at least in Gotham you didn't have Supergirl unexpectedly dropping by via the brand new hole in the roof. Not that people minded the Maid of Might visiting their homes, but did she really have use the new wide-screen plasma TV to bash in a monster's skull?

'_Where's my boyfriend when I need him _' Kara wondered as she flew out of house she had just partly trashed _'He actually likes killing evil creatures, or maybe it's just his wallet I need, that fancy TV looked brand new'._

Supergirl felt it was just a little immoral for her partner to use Slade Wilson's vast wealth, as it was all blood money, but although there were times when having a millionaire around could be really handy. It took less time for him to write a cheque than did for Kara to wreak a house. Which was saying something as she could trash a home really fast if she had a mind to. Not that doing so had ever been any sort of plan, but on days like this it did seem to happen.

Then there were the shoes. She really did love having a closet full of shoes, and best of all she didn't have to pay for them. It did strike her then that she was being a little ungrateful about that, turning your boyfriend into a walking cash machine was not a good thing, but what the hell he'd only spend the money on his own assassin robots and other silly boy stuff. Besides she did wear a lot of the clothes his money brought for him. The look on his face had totally made it worth the expense when he'd seen in her that two hundred-dollar leather miniskirt that came with matching boots.

Anyway she'd make it up to him and build him that silly laser sword he wanted next time she was at the fortress. That was going to be one hell of a birthday gift. Hopefully he'd find it as cool as the ones she seen in those goofy movies he seemed to love so much.

Kara could think about this sort of thing even when bashing heads, but it was always a good idea to try to totally focus on your surroundings, so that was what she did.

"Jo'nn" I could really use some help down here" requested Supergirl as another wave of Parademons were spat out of an opening boomtube.

This was going to take up her whole day, she just knew it. _Stupid evil creatures from the stars!_

"Everyone is busy" informed the Man Hunter as Kara shot down many of the newest invaders with her heat vision "the civil war on Apokolips has spilled over onto Earth. There are parademons all over the west coast. Superman and the Flash are busy uptown. Wonder Woman is assisting Batman in Gotham. Shayera is leading a team in Washington D.C in case they spread that far and Green Lantern is dealing with a large group near Westbury, along with Vixen".

Jo'nn didn't like having couples on teams, but as founding member Jon Stewart aka Green Lantern had the right to choose his own team.

This was also why Gothic wasn't with Kara right now, well that and the fact that the League didn't want someone they thought of as dangerously unpredictable to run around unsupervised. Which was funny to her, because she found him to be very predictable.

"Just get him down here Jo'nn" Supergirl said as she batted aside a parademon who had been trying to sneak up on her "I can't take down these many bad guys without going full throttle, and I don't think you want to lose an entire city block".

Well she could take them out without that much property damage, but there were a lot of homes in this part of the city, and if the monsters were here to grab slaves then she might not be able to stop people from being taken while also fighting hundreds of enemies.

"Well he is standing on the teleporter pad" justified the alien overseer "and I suppose he does need to test out his new armour".

The man from Mars wasn't just being stubborn. The former leader of the Teen Titans hadn't yet been cleared for duty. In fact he hadn't even gone through induction yet or had his physical, so there were good reasons as to why he wasn't already here.

_But there are also good reasons for him to be here _Supergirl thought as she thumped another enemy hard enough on the head that the creature's head cracked the concrete as it fell _if nothing else I'm really going to need a hug after all of this fighting._

"You know that armour does have an inbuilt flame thrower" Kara casually informed "I'm not saying he'd use it on you, but you know how he gets when he can't protect one of his girls".

Not that she needed protection, but it was nice to think that there was someone out there who didn't think of her as little more than a female version of Superman. It made her feel more like a normal girl. Well as normal as a girl who can crush cars with her bare hands could feel.

"Very well" said the alien "I will beam him down".

"Good" she replied "tell him the leash is off since this is an invasion".

Gothic would understand this meant the didn't have to worry about not killing. They weren't here to arrest anyone, they had to repel these attacks, and if that meant using lethal force then that was okay with her. The other members of the League might not approve but she'd once been under Darkseid's control, so she knew exactly what would happen to the people the Parademons carried off. Better to kill the monsters as quickly as possible so that others would be spared their gruesome fate.

Gothic arrived not a moment to soon, another boomtube opened, and this time it wasn't just parademons that poured out.

(Line Break)

**Metropolis – Downtown – October 2002 **

"Granny Goodness!" snarled Supergirl, who was no doubt remembering the torments that she had suffered while under the 'care' of that evil woman.

Assuming my information was correct Granny Goodness was an inhabitant of the planet Apokolips and the commander of the Female Furies, who were Darksied's élite guards. While 'granny' had the mannerisms of a kindly old lady, she was in fact a cruel tormentor of children and one of Darkseid's most loyal lieutenants. So if I had my way she was going to die here today, and if she was very lucky it would be a quick death.

"Parademons attack!" ordered Granny as she blasted Kara with an energy weapon some kind.

I would have worried about my girlfriend if not for the heat beams that raced past me to blast the rod-shaped device Goodness was carrying into little pieces. Not that I had time to worry as I was soon under attack. The armour I was using was new so I didn't fully know what it could do and if I had to find out it was better to try it out on these monsters than to accidentally hurt an ally.

Using the flame thrower I set a load of parademons alight with white-hot fire. The monsters died easily enough and since everything around me was made of concrete nothing else caught fire. I might have melted parts a few lampposts but that was nothing in comparison to the lives the creatures would have taken if I hadn't been around to stop them.

Everything seemed to be going quite well. Kara's heat vision and my flame thrower swiftly dealt with the parademons who had foolish tried to rush us rather than spread out. An act which only hastened their demise.

That was when things got worse.

Out of the still open boomtube came Kalibak. A being who had superhuman levels strength and resilience, no doubt thanks to his heritage as Darkseid's son. Who is mother was I hadn't a clue, but I didn't think that she had been attractive women given her son's looks.

Ugly features aside Kalibak was a deadly foe. In past battles, he had been a match for Wonder Woman, but I wasn't too worried as the freak had been defeated multiple times by Superman and even once by the bounty hunter, and fellow rocker, the Main Man Lobo. Which meant Supergirl should be able to handle him.

Even so, I was a little concerned as Lobo had needed to put a dozen cars on top of Kalibak in order to make him surrender. Then again this guy's fighting skills were limited to feats of brute strength, and he wasn't very bright either.

I grew more than a merely a little concerned when the monster landed on top of me and started to bash my chest with his massive fists. It didn't hurt because the dragon themed power armour I wore was just that awesome, but it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience either.

Of course Kalibak's time here on Earth became a lot less pleasant when I set his greasy hair on fire. It was very funny to see him running about screaming, even if I was to busy trying to stand up to get to fully enjoy the sight. Sadly it didn't last either as the massive moron showed a glimmer of intelligence when he ripped a fire hydrant out the ground. The fountain of water soaked him enough to put the flames out.

"I will smash your bones for that" Kalibak threatened as he prepared to attack me.

He tackled me and he was strong that I ended up half embedded in the wall of someone's business. My armour's system were really being tested and I was oh so grateful to my girlfriend for building this thing as without I'd be red paste by now.

With it on I barely felt anything and it also gave me the means to free myself. The flame thrower built into the left arm of the suit wouldn't help me, but the right arm was a different story. Not only was the angle of the arm better positioned but it also contained something called a fusion blaster. I had no idea what that was. However I found effective it was when the energy bolt struck Kalibak in the foot made him hop up and down in another amusing scene.

Again I didn't get enjoy it for long, however this time it was my choice as I had quickly decided that I should press the attack. The suit followed commands the same way the muscles of my body did, so the armour and my body moved as one. The strength enhancers in the suit allowed me to land a series of mighty blows upon my foe. The son of Darkseid was driven to his knees and I was just about to slam both of my metal covered fists into his head when suddenly Kalibak delivered a powerful uppercut which sent me flying. I would have landed, but the suit's dragon like wings shoot out and the inbuilt jet pack activated so that I ended up floating in the air.

Kalibak couldn't take to the air, however he could throw things really well. As I discovered when a car came right at me. Without even thinking about it I caught the airborne vehicle and threw it back at my enemy. That was when I realised that I hadn't checked if it was empty or not. Thankfully it was and this was proven as after the car had hit Kalibak, he broke it in two and I saw that no one was in it.

The two pieces of the wreaked auto-mobile were then thrown at me, but I batted them aside and then opened fire with the fusion blaster. Darkseid's son was tough, but not invulnerable so the weapon did hurt him. But I had to stop firing when the display in the helmet warned me that the gun was overheating. Apparently the weapon's system in this suit of powered armour were not lethal enough to end a fight like this. Which made sense as the suit was suppose to let me work alongside the bit hitters in the League not to let me kill super beings.

"Get down here, so I can crush you" demanded Kalibak

I did in fact get down there. The jet pack flared and I rammed right into my foe with enough speed that I knocked him into a wall hard enough to spread cracks across all along the concrete surface.

Kalibak didn't recover as fast this time, so I got to punch him some more. I didn't actually intend to kill the alien, only to beat him senseless, if he happened to die in the process then I was okay with that, but then he did something rather unexpected: he moved with far greater speed than I would of imagined and somehow got me into a headlock.

I tried to free myself but the alien was also stronger than I had anticipated. Perhaps because now he was filled with rage. It should have made my foe sloppy and I had made the mistake of getting in close. From somewhere I couldn't see the alien produced a club, which he used to bash me. Thankfully it didn't hurt, but I did get rattled around a bit.

The next thing I knew Kalibak seemed to be trying to snap my neck. Granted it wouldn't kill me, but it could really ruin my day.

That was when the love of my life (not counting Raven) joined the fight. I couldn't see what she did however I was soon free, so I knew she must of done something to set me lose.

"What is it you want?" my goddess of a girlfriend demanded to know.

"Your demise" Kalibak replied before whacking Kara with his beta club, an act that sent her flying backwards so hard that she hit the ground after soaring through the air.

The ugly git then leaped high into the air, and then Kalibak landed right on top of Kara with such force, that it created a crater around them.

"Motherfucker" I heard myself say.

It took a lot of effort but I managed to get up. I tried to help however there was something wrong with the suit. It was trying to tell me something yet I ignored the words and tried to lift my right arm.

"Come on Kryptonian!" Kalibak said as he started to beat Kara with his club. "Fight back! There's no pleasure in killing an opponent. If they don't even struggle"

That was when I tried to open fire, but nothing happen, the fusion blaster must have been damaged, and I was out of range with the flame thrower which meant I had to get closer.

"I would have expected more from the cousin of Superman" mocked the son of Darkseid

Kara was then flying past me, and for a second I thought Kalibak was going to try and finish me off, but foolishly he ignored me.

Instead Kalibak looked right at Kara and his confident expression was soon replaced with one of fear as he saw my sweetheart standing up. Her eyes glowing red, and she had a very furious look upon her face.

"You want a fight?!" she asked as her eyes glowed even brighter. "You've got one!"

Then she blasted Kalibak with his heat vision sending him flying into the air, screaming in agony. Then the alien bounced off the side of a building and almost smacked head first into the pavement, but at the last second Kara flew forward, caugh Kalibak in the air, and starting wailing on him with a barrage of punches.

"I'm so sick and tired of every single supervillain thinking that they can take me on to get to Superman" she said as she punched Kalibak twice in the face with all of her might. "just because I'm a girl that doesn't mean I'm weaker than him"

She then punched Kalibak some more before sending him hurdling to the ground. Only again the ugly alien never made it as Kara was waiting for him. Before the ugly alien hit the tarmac she grabbed a leg and spun Darkseid's son around so that he went flying past me, and through the windows of department store. Another humours site was soon laid before me as Kalibak had hit the women's clothing section of the store. When the villain climbed out I saw that he was covered in girl's underwear. That really made me laugh.

"Well guess what big man," Kara then said, continuing her speech, as she flew down and grabbed Kalibak by the throat. "I'm not just some kid that you get to push around!"

My girlfriend was still beating on the super powered freak when the Special Crimes Unit turned up.

"I think you've won" said the officer leading the team which had come to claim Kalibak "we can take it from here Miss".

Kara did just that, and then she raced over to me.

"Did you hurt you" she asked with great amounts of concern.

"Not really" I replied "I got shook up a little, but there's something wrong with the armour. The blasters not working and I can't seem to move very well. I tried to fire it and all I got was a sort of error message".

Using her X-ray vision my other half looked me up and down.

"Auto-repairs already handling the damage. Still I think I can make a few improvements. I could reinforce the...".

That was when the technobabble started I felt my head start to hurt.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I was also concerned "he smacked you around a bit there".

Kara looked okay, but just because she didn't seem to be badly injured that didn't mean that she was doing fine.

"I'll be better soon" my girlfriend assured " Kalibak's no were near as tough as Darkseid, and I've fought him".

I was very glad that I'd never had to fight Darkseid. That guy was so much more powerful than me that a fight between us wouldn't less seconds. At least not unless that guy had some sort of major weakness I could exploit.

"So I don't have to endure any therapeutic shopping trips then?" I joked.

Buying new clothes was a proven way for women to deal with their stressful lives, and since I was now super rich I could afford to spoil Kara more than a little. Sometimes she felt guilty about it I was sure, but it was really no big deal to me as it was only money. The actual shopping was the traumatic part, all those bags.

"No thanks" she replied "I think when you spend two hundred dollars on a designer skirt and you still pay for some matching boots, then you have to admit that you have a problem. But we could go out to dinner".

Food sounded good. Neither of us needed to eat as she ran on sunlight and water, a lot like a plant. As for me I couldn't starve to death, but we did both feel really hunger after a lot of physical activity so we liked to eat something after a big fight.

"First let's go up the Watchtower and get you out of that armour" decided my girlfriend.

With that Kara called the alien overseer and seconds we were transported away.

**Stewart's Comic Book Store – Big Bang Theory Universe - 2014**

It was Wednesday night, and to those who had the misfortune of knowing Sheldon Cooper this evening had another name. It was New Comic Book Night, an event that involved someone driving Sheldon Cooper down to the comic book store. Sometimes the group was made up of all four of the close male friends, but this night only Leonard Hofstadter was available. Which meant that he alone had to suffer in silence as Sheldon Cooper lectured on a subject no one cared about.

The door of the store opened and Sheldon sniffed the air, at once he detected the scent of new comic books. It was almost like some sort of supernatural power, but neither of the geeky men believed in such things.

"So what's on offer tonight" Leonard asked of his friend Stewart.

The comic book store had burned down a few months, and ever since it had been repaired and then reopened there had been a lot of new merchandise on offer. But the biggest change was that DC Comics no longer existed.

Out of no where the entire DC franchise had been brought under the control of a British company and then more or less destroyed. Now there was only one comic being produced and all the new merchandise, such as action figures and toys, were all connected to Traveller Comics one and only comic book series.

But that wasn't even the weird thing. No one could understand why this had been done. It simply wasn't profitable at all. The only explanation Leonard Hofstadter could come up with was that some insane rich person had created the character and then had spent a fortune to ensure that every DC fan would read about his creation even if it made the company bankrupt.

"Just the newest issue of Gothic" answered the store's owner after finally managing to open a large box that was full of freshly printed comics " it's the start of the new series too".

Sheldon let a sigh, which made Leonard grin just a little. His room mate loathed the character called Gothic, for which the comic was named. This was because the books were now full of violence, sex, nudity, unconventional yet still romantic relationships, and quite a lot of swearing.

That was what really annoyed Sheldon. The fact that the book took place an altered and sometimes confusing version of the DCAU, paled in comparison to the fact that Traveller comics was clearly an adult product. Sheldon did not approve, and perversely that just made Leonard a little giddy when a new one came out.

Of course the real sin was that Dr Cooper's beloved Flash had not once been seen, only mentioned. Even the parts of the story that showed more established characters had never once shown Wally West in action.

Truthfully the fact that comic book annoyed Sheldon so much was not the only reason why the physicist enjoyed the stories so much. The main character was from a universe were superheroes and their evil counterparts only existed on the television or on paper. The fictional character, who had also been a bit of nerd, had then been thrown into the altered DCAU by a being known as the Traveller, the being that the franchise was now named after.

To start with Gothic had been de-aged and then given immortality along with another powers that weren't yet completely understood. Thrown in with the Teen Titans of the cartoon series the new character had undergone a series of adventures while also trying to fit in with the young heroes. Something that hadn't been very succesful as Gothic was not a clean cut hero, he was a bit an anti-hero in fact, one that had been forced into a role he didn't wish for him.

That drama aside the immortal had gone off to have adventures of the very adult kind. He'd slept with Catwoman and Tali' al Ghul, both of which were romantic interests of the Batman. Heck he'd gotten off with Harley Quinn in the first season, an event that had relived the fact that Joker was gay and in love with Gotham's Dark Knight.

Even more impressive than any of that was the sort of hero's meeting with Supergirl. That there was an intense physical attraction between the two characters right from the start had been made very clear. Two dates, and an encounter with the Riddler, led to a very graphic scene and then Gothic was off again to explore more of the world he'd been sent to aganist his will.

After that Trigon had been defeated and Gothic had entered a relationships with Raven. Hints about the romance had been in many issues, only the characters themselves seemed to have been oblivious to their growing love or at least Gothic had been. Raven had at least known she had a crush, but she hadn't expressed her feeling until it was too late, but things had worked out well after Trigon's death and the world wide reset.

That was when things really de-railed. The Teen Titans completely changed. Three of the Titans left the team, but did make a few appearances later. New team members had been added, one of which was a completely new character one never before seen in the DC Verse. But the really interesting part was that Supergirl had then joined the team and she had her eye on acquiring Gothic as a boyfriend.

Given that Raven had already staked her claim it had only been a matter of time before the two super powered women got into a fight. It had happened fight away, there had been other adventures and the return of Slade to enjoy before the confrontation had taken place.

Then something unexpected had happened. Raven and Supergirl had decided to share the man they both wanted to be with romantically. Something Leonard hadn't seem coming, it was also something Sheldon complained endlessly about despite the fact that he didn't exactly have a normal relationships with his girlfriend either. After all not many people had multi page contracts with their romantic partners.

Of course while such odd relationships do happen, they rarely last both in real life and in comic books. Raven had left soon after Gothic had been made leader of the Teen Titans. The plus side was that this put Supergirl in the spotlight, so to speak, and she'd turned out be a very fun character.

Meanwhile the immortal had been dealing with the troubles that came with being a good leader. Plus there had been the normal super villain fights and Tim Drake's retirement from the super hero life to deal with.

There had even been a crossover issue featuring Supergirl and Gothic going on a Justice League mission. Followed by a visit to the famed fortress of solitude.

Soon after that the series had come to an end. The Slade plot had come to an end and there had been a massive three battle involving the Titans, Deathstroke's forces and Cadmus.

Leonard had enjoyed the final book it had explained a lot, not everything but enough that a lot of confusing things had started to make sense. As an added bonus a dark and thankfully alternate future had been shown, but it ended on a hopeful note and there was a promise of further adventures.

Now the first issue of the new series was here, and the scientist fully intended to buy it. Sheldon also brought a copy, if only so he could complain about it.

"You know you could just by old comics online" pointed out Leonard Hofstadter as he and his room mate left the store.

As normal Sheldon Cooper refused to take his friend's advice.

"It's Wednesday night" said the tall nerd "Wednesday night is new comic book night. So unless Amazon start to deliver to the apartment on a Wednesday night then I will continue to come to the comic book store".

Leonard just shook his head and for the millionth time he had to wonder of Sheldon's mother had really gotten her son tested for insanity or not.

**Author Notes**.

I'm going to try and keep a better track of time. So keep an eye on that. At this point its only been a few weeks since the Titans were shut down. Kara and Gothic are living together in the Watchtower and will soon have their own place as planned.

Mae'r Ddraig Gymreig means The Welsh Dragon. Welsh Dragon, or simply 'Dragon', is Gothic's Justice League name for when he puts on the armour and gets to be one the big hitters. The name is not mine it comes from the mind of DeusImperator92. I also had other suggestions that led to this point, but I can't remember who said what but I got given ideas about the character wearing power armour and also about becoming a dragon. I ended up with dragon themed power armour that was made by Kara using advanced alien tech, so thanks for the help kind reviewers.

Lastly another reviewer suggest the idea of DC Gothic being shown as a comic book. Since there will be a few small crossovers in this story it amused me to have the Gothic comic series appear in Big Bang Theory. Plus it gave me the chance to summarise the DC Gothic – Teen Titans in case anyone reading this story has forgotten any of the important details.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note:**

So here is another chapter. Not much to say on it really. Gothic's being brought into the League but some people aren't happy about it. Even he isn't overjoyed by the idea.

FYI I put together a couple of chapters for my version of Trouble in Tokyo. It features Gothic's Titans rather than the original cast so while the overall plot is the same the characters are different and so the story is a bit different as well. I wanted to see if they was any interest in such a story before writing anymore. I'm not much in Japanese culture so I'm not going to write a story set in Japan unless people want to read it.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Indoctrination **

**The Watchtower – Control Room -** October 2002 **  
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I knew that it was a bad idea but I couldn't help it I just had to yawn. I did that because Green Lantern was lecturing me about what League members should and shouldn't do. It was a long list of things and he hadn't even gotten to stuff I was actually likely to do. But he was so boring to listen to that I was finding it extremely hard to focus on anything he was saying.

"And another thing, members of the League do their best to save lives not to end them. We found the remains of Slade Wilson. Killing your enemies is not acceptable".

Actually I'd never killed Slade Wilson. He'd already been dead when I'd destroyed him in the Underword and that whole thing had been undone during some sort of big reset. The second time he'd 'died' it had been Robin who had done the deed. Not that I was going to Jon Stewart that. Tim had ended Slade's existence in order to protect his fellow Titans, but a stuck up git like Stewart would never accept that. Much better for me to take the blame and any punishment, that way Tim could put the event behind him and get on with the life he deserved to have.

"And?" I promoted.

Judging by the Founder's expression I judged that this may of not been the smartest thing that I could have said.

"Do you have any idea what kind of sanctions can be levied against you, as a member of the League, for murder? Or what the police might do if they found out. This could go to court".

What could they do to me? Slade had already been dead. You can't murder a lich because they aren't alive. You can't kill a corpse. End of story. Plus Slade had been an assassin and terrorist, ending him had been a public service and could be justified as self-defence since Deathstroke had been trying to kill the Titans.

"And again, I should care why?"

He better have a good reason because I was half asleep already and besides from making angry faces there really was much he could do unless I broke the rules again, because there was no actual evidence that I had killed Slade. None of my Titans were going to grass on me. Besides winding him was rather fun.

"I can have you remove from the League" Green Lantern said, clearing trying to impress upon me how important this whole not killing the bad guys thing was.

"No you can't," I said with a smirk "I know for a fact that you already got voted down when you tried to remove me from the Titans, and when you tried to stop me from joining the League you got voted down again. So there is no way you can just kick me out. Besides I wouldn't be here if I wasn't wanted. I don't why that is, but I can make a few guesses".

Shayera had actually sponsored my entry, and had told me the results of the vote, as a founding member she had a lot of influence over these sort of decisions even if she was exactly that popular right now. She actually liked me in a friend way and it was mutual so there no mystery as to why she had taken my side. Another possible reason was that Superman wanted me on the side of the good guys, for reasons of his own. Plus Kara may have put some pressure on him, but if she had she hadn't told me about it.

I also suspected that Batman wanted to keep me close, if only to keep an eye on me. That was understandable as I was still Ra's al Ghul's successor and I had information that could spell disaster for the League should it fall into unfriendly hands. What Wonder Woman wanted was no concern to me, as I really didn't like her. As for the Flash might have been on my side as he was the kind of person to see the best in other people.

"As one of the founders it is my responsibility to ensure that everyone in the league is of high moral character. So, yes I might not be able to remove you from the League by I can limit your actions. I can keep on monitor duty full-time".

Now he'd lessened the threat. Which meant he was bluffing. He had no real hold over me.

"I won't do it" I replied "I have no intention of wasting my time sitting at a computer".

And even I did I'd just play video games and annoy people on Cape.

"You'll do whatever it is I order you to do," John Stewart yelled in a sort of drill sergeant way.

"Okay how about this" I said "I won't kill any human being unless they are trying to destroy the world".

For me that was a very reasonable offer, but it was shot down.

"No killing people period" GL replied "human or otherwise".

"What about Omega level situations?" I asked "aren't we allowed to.."

I stopped there as Green Lantern eyes actually started to glow with the same kind of energy he could call upon using his ring. It kinda reminded me of the time Starfire had threatened to smite me if I didn't talk to Raven about joining with some sort of friendship celebration. But rather than blast me Stewart just closed his eyes and clenched his fists, in an effect to control his temper.

While his eyes were closed I got up and left. Only I didn't get far as I stopped by another member of the League

"Why are you annoying Jon so much. He is one of the founders of the league. He wasn't lying about keeping you stuck up here either, and as a Green Lantern he is one of the best people to learn from. Sure, he's a little harsh sometimes, but he's really a caring soul who can really help you find your way to becoming a true hero".

Given that Vixen was sleeping with Stewart, her opinion was rather biases, but I had nothing against her personally so I didn't ignore her.

"I don't want to be a true hero" I told the supermodel "I might be immortal but aside from that I'm not that powerful".

"Even normal human have a place in the league. Batman is 'just' human and look at everything he has accomplished".

Oh yeah he was a great role model. Sure he'd helped saved the world, but then so had I, even if I didn't remember either of those times, and I was able to have fun and relationships. Guy was a total asshole in a lot of ways. Tim Drake had told me a lot about his early teenage years, and some of it was very unsettling to say the least.

"I'm not a hero, I'm a killer" I admitted "and I'll kill again to protect the people I care about".

"Just because you've killed in the past doesn't mean you can't be a super hero now" Vixen said, and she meant it.

I totally disagreed with that statement.

"No I can't. Super Heroes don't always have special rings or meta-human abilities but they always set good examples. Even Batman is an inspiration to people, that's why he is a super hero even without any power. He could, and would, give his life to protect others. I can't do that, and I'm no were near merciful enough to be compared to people like you. I have killed and if I wasn't forcing myself to be here I'd go out and do what needed to be done. Because this is a war and every time you spare one of the monsters out there you doom dozens of good people to horrible fates. I'm not saying your way is wrong, because it's not, but it's not the way I'd do things if I wasn't in the League".

"So why are you in the League if you don't agree with our goals?" Vixen asked.

Well mostly it was because Starfire had asked me to. The alternative was led to me being this universe's version of Frank Castle. Not exactly the good life, it was something I wanted to avoid.

"I made a promise to a princess" I replied before walking away.

**The Watchtower – Training Rooms **- October 2002 **  
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"It's obvious you need further training," Batman said bluntly from the control room overlooking the simulator.

Was it. I'd thought I was doing rather well?

"You do remember that Robin trained me right?" I asked.

"Yes" replied Batman.

"And since you trained him that means in a way you're criticizing your own teaching methods".

I did so love pointing out how foolish the members of the League could be at times.

Rather than reply the Dark Knight said.

"Activating Danger Room"

"The X-men could so sue you for this" I joked.

Before I knew what was happening I was in some city. Batman had added some random civilians to the simulation and then a small group of people came running out of bank while firing their weapons into the air.

"Always with the banks" I muttered before springing into action.

(Line Break)

In the simulation control room, some of the founding members and Kara watched the immortal go to town on some holographic bad guys.

"Hmm" Batman said as he studied the readouts "nothing superhuman so far. Peak levels for certain but I don't think he has any meta-human enhancements aside from his immortality and rapid skill acquisition".

Since no one commented on that the Dark Knight began increasing the threat level in the room.

"I had no idea he could move like that" commented Green Lantern, who had calmed down enough to be subjective about what he was viewing "he's much faster and more agile than his profile suggests".

Batman had much better idea of what Gothic could do when compared to the other Founders since the now former Robin had been making regular reports to him about the immortal, but still it was better to see the young man in action for himself, as it would help the Dark Knight should he have to take rocker down one day.

"He's told me a few times that revealing your true strength was one of the things a crime fighter should never do" commented Supergirl "so he holds back a lot of the time, but I don't think he knows how good he really is"

Gotham's Grim Guardian made a mental note about that, it also explained why Gothic was showing off how strong he was. The immortal wasn't that phyiscally powerful but he did actual have super strength it was just that he didn't use enough to always be noticable.

Then the Batman cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"He's just be shot, by a plastic bullet, but he should have been slowed down or even knocked over. Which means..."

Clark confirmed what Bruce was thinking with one of his many forms of vision.

"Kevlar. Light armour. It's hard to tell he's wearing it".

"It similar to the materials I use" explained Batman "it conforms to the body"

Bruce knew this as Robin had gotten the piece of equipment for the young immortal from the Batcave, with the Dark Knight's permission of course.

"Body armour in a training session. That seems a little paranoid," GL said to the Caped Crusader "I mean for anyone who isn't you".

"If it gets used, then it's not paranoia. It's just good planning" Batman said firmly, causing almost everyone to roll their eyes.

"He's far more ruthless than most members of the League" Jo'nn commented as the immortal beat up several minor villains with a staff.

Batman then noted that the style was similar to that used by Nightwing, who had assisted in Robin's training so that made sense. Batman rarely used the telescoping staff himself, but he had to admit that it was an effective weapon. Also a few of the moves Gothic was using clearly came from Deathstroke the Terminator. Which was a little bit worrying, but on the other hand Gotham's shadowy protector knew how effective such moves could be as he himself had faced Slade Wilson in combat. This was also important for the broody crime fighter to know as again it might aid him should he ever need to take Gothic out of action for a while.

"All that power in the hands of someone who values other people welling being so little," GL said with sigh "it's such a shame".

"If we acted like that, we'd be no better than they are," Superman agreed.

"Really" said Supergirl "your criticizing him for giving a nasty beating to crook who just opened fire on a crowd of people"

The latest wave of criminal scum had indeed opened fire upon innocent bystanders. Granted they were holographic people, but that didn't mean that her point wasn't a valid one.

"Sorry, Kara I may have oversimplified" said her cousin "What I meant is that we ourselves can't afford to deviate from a strict code of conduct or we run the risk of becoming the very thing we fight against. The most worse thing about evil people isn't the pain and suffering they cause, it's that we can become like them. By acting as ruthless and cruel towards them we can start to reflect them, until one day we look in the mirror and we see the monsters that we fight staring back at us".

_"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you"_ quoted the Flash

Hearing Wally West quote Friedrich Nietzsche was a surprise to everyone, but no one commented on the matter as really they should have been shocked at all. The Flash was no fool, in fact many suspected that he only played that role to make other people underestimate him.

"That's a good point" admitted Kara after thinking on the matter a little "but maybe that's why he needs to be here".

Truthfully she hadn't considered the idea that Gothic could turn into a monster by being a ruthless and bloodthirsty as they could sometimes be. So she decided then and there to talk to her boyfriend about this crime fighting methods the next time he went too far. Perhaps she could get that important point across. She also had another way to help keep her partner more relaxed, but that was very personal and it could go wrong.

"I'm going to put him up against some of my foes" Batman announced, bringing everyone's attention back to what the newest member of the League was doing .

The Joker and Harley popped out of an alley to the side of the immortal. However before the Clown Prince of Crime could do anything other than laugh. Gothic collapsed the staff he was using so that it was the size of baton and then threw it so hard that the Joker collapsed to the ground. Hologram Harley freaked out but soon had a dart in her neck, and two seconds later she was on the ground.

"He's got these darts coated in sedatives" Kara explained "he throws them really well and it knocks people out for a few hours at least"

Something that she had experienced first hand, but she'd actually considered the act a merciful one, as she really hadn't wanted to knock her boyfriend out by punching him. The smoke bomb thing had been what had really annoyed her, but she was a forgiving person.

Gothic didn't seem to be as forgiving, but all of the founders watching had to admit that the young man was skilled, and that he a lot of potential to be a great hero.

"Any more testing?" Shayera asked after she arrived just in time to see the immortal had beaten Killer Croc senseless.

Batman nodded, all business as he pressed some more buttons.

They all watched as the sort of hero turned toward a door just in time to see a bloody and badly injured Superman get thrown threw the door. Then the walls surrounding the door came apart as a massive grey figure tore it apart in order to get onto the street.

"Doomsday," Superman whispered with a touch of dread, before more firmly saying "that's a bit much isn't it?".

Sure this was all a test, but this match up seemed wrong to Clark.

"We need to see if he will give up" replied Batman "he's in no actual danger in any case".

Which was true as the safety protocols were in effect. There was only a very small chance they would fail so normally Bruce wouldn't risk using this training level on anyone who didn't have the raw power of a big hitter, but Gothic couldn't actually be killed.

"He better not be" said Kara darkly "or I'll be throwing _you_ through a door".

Even the Dark Knight wasn't brave enough to face an upset Supergirl, well not without time to prepare, so he changed to the enemy into something more reasonable. Bane was a good choice as while Gothic had fought the masked wrestler before he'd not faced Bane at full strength. This would be a much fairer test.

As it turned out the immortal had enough darts to take down Bane. The computer took into account the fact that Bane used venom but even that cocktail of drugs couldn't keep you standing if you got hit by enough darts to take down an entire team of super villains. Of course hitting the criminal with the broken door had helped as well.

Batman intended for there to have been some more trials, ones that tested Gothic stealth skills rather than fighting talents, but something more important came up and everyone but Shayera had to leave. The woman once known as Hawkgirl took over and once the immortal had worn himself out she invited him to go have a drink with her so they could chat for a while.

(Line Break)

**The Watchtower – Mess Hall **- October 2002 **  
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"Oh mocha" I said as the Thanagarian Thrasher presented me with the caffeine goodness "Shay tell me, how did you know that I badly wanted this exact coffee?".

Shay was the nickname I'd given Hawkgirl, as I just enjoyed giving people new names.

"I didn't I just got you what I was having" replied Shayera as we sat down at an empty table.

"Ah so you just have really good taste then" I said to her.

Looking around I couldn't fail to notice how many people taking care not to look at either of us, and for once I didn't think it had anything to do with me.

"Nice crowd" I muttered

No big hitters or founders around at the moment, but there were a good twenty or so people in here. Yet we might as well have been alone.

"I did betray the League" Shayera reminded me.

Sure but no one here had actually been in the League at the time.

"I betrayed the entire world" Shay added a moment later.

Yes well betrayal was always very personal.

"I killed at least a dozen of your people during the Occupation" I stated "but you're not holding a grudge"

Okay so that didn't really compared to nearly letting billions die, but I was trying to make her feel better about herself and admittily I wasn't doing a very good job.

"You were fighting for freedom" Shay pointed out "I helped my people to take over your entire world".

Actually I suspect that it had in fact had more to do an overdose of testosterone combined with a desire to exert myself while gaining freedom from the Tower I'd felt imprisoned in. Plus they did ruin Christmas, I could never of let that go.

"It's not really my world either" I said with a sigh.

Of course it was at least a version of Earth, which was better than being on a totally alien planet, even if was an unusual variation of my world.

"I know what you mean" agreed Shayera, who then went silent before saying "Maybe that's why were friends. We're both exiled from our homes".

I could sense that she needed more than that from me to be friends.

"Nah I don't think that's the only reason. I do take to people quickly. You're fun to hang out with. You have a good sense of humour. You can kick ass and make it look easy. You've helped saved the world at least three time so everyone owes you, but you never think you're better than anyone else. Oh and you're super hot too. What's not to like?".

"No flirting I'm too old for you" she replied with a smile that let me know that I had at least cheered her up a little.

"I'm older than I appear" I replied "I just look young so why not flirt with you. I might even be older than you what with all the time travel and that whole regression to a seventeen year old thing".

Or was it sixteen? I really couldn't remember any more. To much time travel I guessed. That and the different fake identities made it hard to keep track of how old you were suppose to be.

"I'm nearly a hundred years old" she admitted.

That had been the wrong time to sip my drink. I made a mess everywhere. Thankfully there were many napkins about and also Shay didn't laugh at me. Which was nice of her.

"What really!" I said between coughs "bloody hell, how long do your people live?"

"I think my grandmother was over three hundred years old" she said without complete certainty " Thanagarian years are shorter than Earth ones but it's still about three hundred years. I'm about thirty in human terms".

I'd never heard her talk about her family before.

"Did you have a large family?" I asked.

I had so I knew that not having them around could be painful sometimes. Mostly I had gotten over it by keeping myself busy and distracted, my messed up life helped with that. Also getting love and affection from Kara made a lot of things easier to handle, even Raven leaving hadn't been as depressing as it could have been thanks to my goddess of a girlfriend.

"Not really" she replied "the war took a lot of people from me, but I was lucky compared to most I didn't have much family to lose. My parents might still be alive I guess. I don't know how bad the invasion was".

Sometimes I had to wonder what was worse. Not knowing if you were now an orphan or knowing for a fact that you were.

"I had a little brother, you remind me off him".

Ah now things were starting to make sense. I had wondered what it was that made her feel protective towards me.

"He was a rebel. Wouldn't join the army, since he was a pacifist".

"I don't think I've ever been compared to a pacifist before" I remarked.

Well not in this reality anyway.

"I'm from a race of warriors" the winged woman reminded "We have people who don't fight but he refused to join when I did. Then he got drafted and went on the run. That's treason so... well he was pretty much what people on Earth would call the black sheep of the family. I think you two could have been friends".

He'd likely been executed was what she meant.

"I do seem to be drawn to the outcasts and the overlooked" I remarked.

Even Kara wasn't really that well known, she was Superman's cousin to most. Few people really saw that Supergirl was really just a young woman who wanted a normal life here. Well as normal as she could get. Blackfire was an outcast because of her past actions. Ace scared people, and Raven... well she could be anti-social to say the least. Ironically I was well know and noticed. People seemed to like me even though I was a so a black sheep.

Heck I even had popular and well known friends. Stargirl looked up to me as a sort of mentor and most people really liked her. My current best friend had been the sidekick of The Batman. Wildfire the heir to the throne of an entire world wanted me to visit his world just to hang out. Oh and Hawkgirl was trying to make me her little brother. My life was weird, and interesting.

"Now that looked like a deep thought" said Shayera "want to share. I don't have a penny but I can get one".

"Just funny life stuff" I shared "I was just think of how I've some how ended up as popular outcast. It's a totally oxymoron. I use to be a total loner and now I get to have coffee with attractive world saving heroines".

"Sadly not for much longer" said Shayera with a sigh "I have monitor duty to get to, and you should get home to Kara before she forgets what you look like".

Ah yes Kara. I should really spend some more time with her before she ended up in the 31st century. Her birthday was less than two months away so that meant I only had just over a year left with her.

"We can make this a regular thing" I said as Shayera got up "I can pay for the coffee next time".

"They're free" replied the former Hawkgirl "but sure that sounds like fun".

As I headed for the teleporter I realised that Shayera could be around for another two hundred years. No wonder she wanted to be friends, she could at least be sure that I had a good chance of being around for a the next century or so. Although I doubted she had actually realised this.

Of course that meant I had to make sure she didn't die. Starfire's future knowledge had told me a few horrible details about how the current League would break apart and how Shay would die. But I was going to make sure that she lived to see another two hundred years.

Just by joining the League I had changed things. Hopefully I could make them better.

"Beam me down, Scotty" I told the tech at the teleporter pad "Jump City please"

A flash of light later and I was home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Notes**

I've had to re-write this whole chapter three times. It slowed everything up. I actually would have started posting chapters for DC Gothic - Justice League last week if not for this headache.

I'm still not happy with it, but I do need to explain how his powers work and this is the best I could manage. If you don't care much about how DC Gothic superpowers function then feel free to skip this chapter as it doesn't develop the plot at all.

**DC Gothic – Immortality. A Blessing Or A Curse? **

**Science Labs – The Watchtower - October 2002 **

"So what's the verdict Doc? Am I going to make it?" I asked of the lab coat wearing medical professional, who had prodded and probbed me for the better part of half an hour.

Before that I'd spent most of the day getting scanned by fancy machines, and then I'd spent more time doing things like lifting weights, balancing, and showing off my body in other ways. Then I'd endured more hardships so they my eye sight and hearing could be tested. At least they hadn't need a cup of my urine. Although the quack had taken a few blood samples.

The doctor totally ignored the joke and kept looking over the results of all the tests along, not just the poking and prodding ones, along with the expert he'd called in earlier.

"Incredible" the female scientist who was aiding the physician muttered "it's not at all what I'd call super strength per say as the muscles have become more efficient and compact, rather than larger, so it's more like enhanced strength".

"What's the difference" asked Shayera Hol who had taken it upon herself to babysit me during my medical assessment.

Kara had planned to be here. She was already a member of the League, so she'd just been transferred, which meant that she'd already been through all of this so she could have prepare me. However Supergirl was required down on Earth as Superman was off in another solar system doing some major humanitarian work.

Blackfire had wanted to take Kara's place, so that I wouldn't be all by myself but her application was still being processed. This was due to her earlier life as a villain. Part of that process involved the alien girl being telepathically scanned and analysed by the Martian Manhunter in order to make sure that Ace's rewiring was permanent. Personally I thought there was no need as while Ace's tampering had changed her views on things Blackfire hadn't totally reformed until she became part of a team. She'd never really had friends until she became a member of my team. In my view being a Teen Titan had been what really changed the alien girl, so much so in fact that she actually missed her brother enough to cry when he left. However I could be wrong so I'd encouraged her to put up with their testing as long Ace was nearby. Being a powerful telepathic metahuman meant that she would be able to fix anything that went wrong during the testing as Ace knew Blackfire's mind very well.

"There are three board categorises of super strength" the female egghead said to Hawkgirl. "Type I: This ranges from being able to carry several people or even lifting small cars. Both you and Gothic are at this level, but at the low-end. Then there's type II: beings who are able to lift heavier things such a large car all the way up carrying an entire plane. Which some members of the League can do. Type III: is Superman levels of strength. Which is impossible to test using the equipment we have here but we do have some data for comparisons".

"Well I am a metahuman" I pointed out "so I was bound to at least be a type one given how much stronger I've become".

I also had denser bones to go along with the compact muscles. Which was nice as it made me harder to damage.

"Actually not always" corrected the doctor "You seen the gene often lays dormant until a moment of extraordinary physiological stress activates it, mostly this happens during purberty, and upon activation it brings about a series of genetic changes. This doesn't always grant a person super powers it can in fact make a person weaker over all

Wait wasn't that how the X-gene worked in the Marvel comics?

"And while this does sound like what happened to you the gene is not in your DNA. So you can't be a meta-human" the science lady added.

I hadn't expected to hear that.

"So wait you're telling me that I am in fact a pure human?" I asked, feeling rather shocked.

"Yes more so than anyone on Earth as we all have the gene, it's just that for most of us it's completely dormant thought out our lives" informed the female brainy person. "You see according to our information a group of aliens performed experiments on primitive humans, changing what we call the meta-gene for reasons only they understood. This tampering involved altered the gene and they used part of their own DNA to do this. Due to their experimentations, they altered the genetic destiny of the human race. Only for humans is the meta-gene so likely to active. There are mutants within other species of course but they are far less common among animals and alien races".

That was true. Metahumans seemed to be everywhere. I had studied this and noticed that the increasing numbers of Metahumans was not directly related to the fact that human population was growing ever higher. There were a lot of environmental factors also involved. Nuclear tests. Pollution. Experimentation and so on.

Also there were aliens who had bred with humans and this had contaminated the gene pool. Well perhaps 'contaminated' was the wrong word for it as that would suggest that our DNA had been purposely corrupted. Unlike those tampering aliens of long ago most who had breed with humans would have just wanted to start families.

"The evolution of other intelligant races suggests that we would have eventually become a species of super beings similar to Kryptonians" added the doctor who seemed to be just as well as formed as the science type woman. "Although that would take hundreds of thousand of years to achieve, likely even longer".

That actually explained a lot. I had wondered why so many alien races were so much powerful than humans. Really they were just more developed than mankind that was all. They weren't better than us. At least no more than an older brother is superior to a younger sibling. They'd just been around longer and evolution in this universe ensured that older species became more powerful over time.

Which was good because humans with even only some of powers that Kryptonians had under a yellow sun would have utterly destroyed this planet a long time ago.

As strange as that all sounded, it wasn't that odd of a thing in fiction. Heck even back home some people believed aliens had tampered with our DNA. Of course until we met other intelligent races and asked them about that no one would never be able to prove it.

Things here however were different. The existence of aliens was a fact of life. So much so that people rarely paid it much attention. Even I could forget that extra terrestrial life was all around me. My own super powered girlfriend was an alien. She might look human, and she might even act like she was a native of Earth, but on the biological level we were radically different. Raven on the other hand was half human since she'd burned out a lot of her demonic biology when destroying nearly all of Trigon. Human DNA had replaced the demon for reasons that made little sense, but she was still half alien as well. I often forgot that fact even though it meant we couldn't have children.

"You are in fact an evolved human" further explained the woman genius "Artificially evolved yes, as this was something done to you, but you're not a mutant or an alien and your power isn't mystical either".

Well my magical powers were of course mystical. They weren't a product of me being a Homo Magi like say Zantana. They came from the fact that my soul was 'blessed' by an elder god. I could use other forms of magic, but the power for those spells still came from the same place.

Which made me a warlock of sorts as the Old Norse word Vard-lokkur, "_caller of spirits_" could be the source of the word. I called upon a being that transferred it's power to me in a spiritual way. It was not a demon, which other Warlocks could call upon for power, as Doctor Fate has assured me of the being had some humanity, but it was not a physical creature. Even when I used Raven's magic, which I could no longer do since it had been was our close intimacy (both physical and emotional) that allowed it, I'd had to tap into her soul self to so.

Another use for the term Warlock was a male witch who got his magic from the devil. Since I now had access to some of Trigon's powers, and he was considered to be the equivalent of Satan in some parts of the universe, and outside of it, the title of Warlock most defiantly applied to me.

If I ever took up Tala's offer of an apprenticeship I would start calling myself Warlock as it did sound cool.

"Although some sort of magic or mystical power was involved in your creation, judging by Doctor Fates notes. This source is not sustaining either ability" added one of the two smart people "there is an energy that does sustain it but it's some sort of exotic radiation, and you're producing it so it won't 'run out' if you understand what I mean".

Which I knew because if it was I would have died during the Occupation when I'd been 'killed' by a Nth metal weapon. Had my immortality been magical the alien weapon would have disrupted any supernatural energies within my body and that would have prevented me from healing.

"This energy has become part of your body, it's in every cell. It's creation is as natural as the production of new blood cells or hair growth. It's a totally biological process. This is why you can't control it. There are things you do to help or even hinder the process but you could never stop it".

"Help how?" I inquired

"Eating healthy food, getting at least six hours sleep a night and exercise" was the simple answer.

I then took a few moments to process all this information before saying anything else.

"So I'm just an advanced human, then?"

"Not strictly speaking" answered the science lady "you're intelligence is above average, but your IQ isn't high enough to match what I theories an advanced human would require. You're certainly more evolved mentally as you can obtain new skills with great ease. However the human brain doesn't stop learning just because you're body has stopped growing. So there is no reason why your IQ can't increase".

That took a moment to process.

"Wait, do you mean I won't get any stronger"

This time it was the male doctor, who answered.

"You've ended the phase of puberty that allows for rapid physically development. I suspect that this why your age was reversed as puberty would be the best time to deal with such a rapid strength increase. The strain would be much easier to handle during that stage. If you'd been an adult you would of experienced a few nasty side effects over the last year or so. At the very least you would have ended up breaking things or maybe even someone if you'd lost control".

That could have been nasty for Raven. She was tougher than a human woman but compared to me she was rather fragile when compared to Kara. Sire she liked rough sex but if I could say push a car or even lift one then I could of done some real harm to her. Kara was far more than human even with the ring on so she would have been fine.

"But what's lucky for you is that you literally never knew your own strength. On some level you've been holding back while your body adapted to the changes. Because it took months for your strength to increase you were able to adjust gradually. That's why you don't break cups when you hold them tight or why you didn't break my fingers when we shook hands. You have incredible control but it's all automatic. So if you need to make use of your strength it will require a great deal of willpower because on some level you really don't want to hurt anyone".

That wasn't true actually. There were plenty of people I wanted to hurt but that desire would overcome my inclination to not to harm the people I liked.

"You could still get stronger" said the doctor "but that would require you devote yourself to strict regime of body building. But even without that you could still win a World's Strongest Man competition".

That would never happen as it would leave no time to improve myself in other areas. Beside even as a type one I was strong enough to say pull a truck, assuming I had tough enough ropes.

"In fact since you're not a meta-human you could legally enter such a contest" added the middle-aged brainy lady.

Well that was way to make money. But after the first time the rules would be changed to exclude more physically evolved humans.

"But what does any of that had to do with him having enhanced strength rather than super strength?" inquired Shayera Hol.

Both of the super smart people looked at each other. They must have been thinking that they had already explained this part.

"We did get a little off track" admitted the clever lady before again trying to explain everything Shayera wanted to know "If you don't count his magical abilities, which come from an eternal force in any case. Gothic's immortality and adaptive biology are his only real superpowers. His immortality is easy to understand, he will age a a few more years as men don't fully finish puberty till the age of 21. Then he will stop ageing at all. It's also why he can't be killed".

"Right I get that part" commented Shayera "he's not the first immortal I've met".

Of course she'd met Savage so she would understand how it worked.

"He heals everything, but he's not invulnerable" the woman further informed "Which is good in some respect because there are always ways around such things. But that's all it does. It will keep alive indefinitely. Well unless something comes along and kills him".

"What could do that?" asked Shayera Hol, in a way that made her sound scared for me rather than merely curious.

"The guys at S.T.A.R. Labs, said decapitation ought to do it" I admitted "so I suppose blowing me up would work just as well".

Or Superman's heat vision. I still had worries about that. Thank god I didn't have to worry about knocking Kara up . If I did he'd burn me up for sure. Still even my biology couldn't adapt to the point that I could start making hybrids. Perhaps one day medical science would allow such things, but that wasn't going to happen for decades from what I understood from Tim and Kara's trip the time of Batman Beyond.

"That might have been true, once" once more corrected the science woman "but I suspect that they lied to you. Emil Hamilton did most of the work and he's now with Cadmus, so I could be that he purposely downplayed your powers. He's a very ethical man, so if he was under pressure to find meta-humans to match members of the League then he would have lied to even you so that Cadmus would underestimate your potential".

"So what would happen?" I asked then.

"Well we don't know" confessed the doctor "you go into a coma of sorts like you do when your body suffers what would normal be considered a lethal wound. But giving your enhanced healing you'd either grow a new body or your body would grow a new head. Both might even happen meaning there'd be two of you. Although the chances are very low".

Oh gods that sounded horrible! But I doubted it would happen as Savage had been around for tens of thousands of years. Someone or something must of cut his head off during that time.

"You make him sound like an earthworm" commented Hawkgirl.

"Actually that doesn't really work" stated the woman egghead "you can't really make two worms from one. So it is unlikely that decapitation would produce such an effect. I just wouldn't rule it out as I can't test it. Also given that the energy that keeps Gothic immortal faded in the blood cells we examined from his sample I think it most unlikely that he would regrow a new head in any case. But if he didn't you could sow his current one back onto his body and he'd recover".

"I'll make a note of it in his JL file" said Shayera Hol with absolute seriousness.

Getting my head shown back on. That was really morbid to think about.

"What about if I get blown up?" I asked next.

This was something I'd worried about.

"That could kill you" answered the smart woman "but then again if someone collected the parts and stitched you back together... but I wouldn't worry about that to much. Everyone and everything that's alive always dies. Everyone's number comes up sooner or later. You're just better equipped to go the distance".

Now that I knew a way I could die I was starting to think about the afterlife. If I did get turned into burnt chunks of meat my soul might not move on. I wouldn't be aware of anything in that state but I'd be sleeping forever rather than moving on. Scary to think on.

"As for your other superpower that's even more impressive".

"My adaptive biology" I said

"More like biological reactive adaptation" corrected the woman who still hadn't told me her name yet "it's more than just your body adapting to threats. That's a big part of it, but... well let me put it this way. If I had the power of a god and I wanted to make a human being who was the perfect survivor without making them something other than human. Well you're not that different from what I'd end up with. Even without your immortality you could live for centuries, you heal fast, you can't be harmed by viruses or bacteria and you can't even get cancer because you cells stay perfectly healthy. You got stronger because you needed to be, you got faster because you needed, you got tougher because you needed to. But you don't mimic other people's powers you adapt to counter them. Your body has reached its physical limits but there's is a point to you training because you can still refine what you have. And then there's your brain. It changes itself, grows new neural paths, any skill or talent that could help you survive as long as you see how it's done you learn it, but its not mimicking you really do learn them on some level. You may not understand how you know but you always know what you need to survive".

Wow this woman was good. She was like Lex Luthor levels of smart.

"Wait that doesn't make sense" I argued as I found one tiny flaw in another wise great theory "I mean a lot of it does. It perfectly explains how I was able to ride that speeder thing during the Occupation, but what about learning music. That's cool and all but how is that linked to survival?"

"Did you play music to impress a girl?" asked the male doctor.

Yeah the dancing and paino thing had mostly been about impresing Kara, but it had started before that. Then again it was still possible that I'd been thinking about learning music for Raven at some point earlier in the year. She had really loved going to those concerts.

"Well yeah" I admitted.

"Of course sexual reproduction is linked to survival" said is his partner in science "so if you wanted to mate with a female your adaptation power would trigger changes that would make you more desirable. You wouldn't need to worry to much about pheromones. You'd simply become a more of an ideal mate. Within limits of course you can't please everyone and it would never undo something that made you a better survivor, and you'd require some sign of initial attraction from them, but even with those limits still you'd have at least a few fertile women you spend time throwing themselves at you as long your subconscious mind found them worthy of carrying your offspring".

Well that explained so much about my love life. No one wonder I had so many woman after me. As soon as of them show any interest that lasted long enough to trigger a change, part of my brain would be thinking 'let's make babies' and I'd make somehow make myself more attractive to them in a way so subtle even I wouldn't notice.

It wouldn't of accounted for the brief encounters but the women who seemed to want to jump right into bed with me weren't exactly sane and often they were very shallow, so they would interested in adaptations that already happened. What Harely Quinn saw me was anyone's guess. Tala had been attracted to my magical power not me, although I was handsome in a ruggedly heroic sort of way. Talia al Ghul would of only cared about my immortality and that was mostly her father's interest. Catwoman was a little different. She'd been using her body as a tool but later on she had seemed to grow found of me. Hence why she'd left me one of the Eye of the Panther. She wouldn't of parted with such a treasure on a whim and she had been very forgiving about being made a hostage.

Heck even Shayera was effected by it. Not in mating way but she'd picked on something that prompted a sort of protective urge and then as we spent time together something subtle had happened. It could be any number of traits that I'd changed just enough that she'd developed feelings towards me. Not romantic but she was clearly interested in my welfare.

In many ways hearing all that was a weight of my shoulders. For a while I'd been worrying that I was somehow brainwashing women with magic or chemical mind control of some sort when all along all I'd actually been doing was making myself more desirable. Everyone did that. When men wanted to show a girl that they were a suitable partner they would try to impress her. I just did it on a whole different level without even trying which was less manipulative because it wasn't done on purpose.

"Well it's nice that you understand his super powers" Shayera was now saying "we only came here to make sure he's fit for duty".

This had actually started off as medical exam. Then somehow we'd started work on fully understanding the weirdness that is me.

"Err yes sorry about that" said the medical practitioner "physically you're more than fit for duty, but I'm worried about your mental health".

"Well who wouldn't be?" I replied "I was held prisoner and tortured recently".

People seemed to forget that rather easily.

"That's actually not my major concern" the doctor continued "you adapt to deal with all threats including psychology ones, so I doubt that you can be driven insane. I'm not even worried about your social life. You're actually remarkable stable when it comes to relationships even they aren't conventional ones. You can empathise and form attachments which is impressive given how alien our world must seem to you".

The physics of the universe did seem really strange sometimes, and the less said about time travel the better. Heck even the people I knew best seemed to be crazy and they were the heroes.

"Your aggressive tendencies should lessen now that your hormone levels are going to start settling down a little. The fact that you have taken lives does however concern me, but not nearly as much as the fact that you're going to have comes to terms with being an immortal".

"What do you mean?" I asked worriedly.

"Again it's a good thing that you were regressed a few years" the doctor replied "you're young enough to think you're immortal, you just happen to be right. But as you get older you're going to have to deal with the fact that the people around you will grow old and die. Then it will sink in that you won't die and it will become worse".

I hated having to think about that.

"Naturally I'm not qualified to help you address these issues so I am recommending regular counselling sessions. I will clear you for duty as long as you agree to attend hourly sessions on a weekly bases for at least the next few months".

I didn't want to argue about it. I really just wanted to go somewhere and deal with the depression that was starting to sink in.

"Fair enough" I replied "if it gets onto the team full time I'll go talk about my feelings and look at ink blots. Can I put some clothes on now".

This entire time I had been wearing nothing more than a gown, and while I was not shy per say it wasn't exactly that warm in here.

"Yes you can get dressed" offered the doc "I don't see much point in bringing you in for regular check ups as the only thing that could cause you health problems would have to be magical".

There was more but I ignored it and went behind the screen in order to change.

"I'll met you in the canteen!" called out Shayera "I think you're going need a coffee after all that".

Or maybe an aspirin. My headaches never lasted long but they still hurt. Damn self improving brain.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note.**

A guest review asked for some Kara-Gothic one on one. So I put this together for those of you like this partnership.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Domestic **

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

Moving house is normally very stressful. There's a lot to do. Things to be packed. Many boxes had to be acquired. Furniture needed to be loaded onto vans and then unloaded into the new place. And that was just the physical stuff. There was also paper work involved. Payments for bills had to be set up as well.

All of which had been handled by my Kryptonian girlfriend as she zipped around as a blur for almost the entire morning. By lunch time I'd just about managed to sort out my weapons, pack them and then unpack them in the one of the hidden rooms that lay beneath the house. Really it shouldn't have taken that long, but I'd gotten distracted by what I'd found beneath the average looking house. The rooms above the ones I was standing in now looked very normal, and it fact they were as it was actually nothing more than a three-story house.

The top floor was all bedrooms. Three of them to be exact. Guest rooms I'd assumed when first seeing them, and two of them would soon be occupied. Ace was going to live with Kara and I full-time as that was the safest arrangement for her. Not only would the girl have the protection of a fellow meta-human and Supergirl, the young telepathic meta-human couldn't read or alter my mind in any way and Kryptonians have some good mental defences off their own. Granted Ace could read Kara's surface thoughts and even make telepathic contact but she couldn't get into my girlfriend's mind the way she could do with others, so there was no temptation to start messing around with our heads or to rewire our brains.

Blackfire would take the other bedroom as mostly she had no where else to go. Her exile to Earth required her to be a member of the Justice League, and this had been agreed upon to help strengthen relations between the League and the alien planet of Tamaran. Which was something I approved of them doing. It was smart given the tensions here on Earth it was a good idea for the League to make alliances with the rest of the galaxy. The rest of the time she'd be staying her in Jump City because unlike in other parts of the world meta-humans and aliens were more accepted here.

The second floor of the house contained two more bedrooms, a bathroom and the master bedroom with its own en suite. That was going to be my room, and while Kara would have her own space she would be sleeping in my bed. The other bedroom was for Raven, assuming that she ever returned, she really did need her own space due her occult studies, and it wasn't such a bad arrangement really as it showed that I didn't favour either of them when it came to our domestic arrangements.

As for the first floor that contained pretty much what you would expect. A kitchen, a laundry room, a living room, a dining room, and there was even a study. All the rooms had the latest mod cons and the TV alone was easily worth more than a thousand dollars.

Clearly Slade had gone all out when setting this place up, it even had most of the furniture we need already set up. The only odd thing about the place, other than the hidden rooms, was that it had not been lived in. This house had never been anyone's home until now.

Not that I really cared about such things. Interior decorating and design was not something that drew my interest. What did get my attention was the basement.

Upon first glance it did just seem like a small room what could be used for storage or even as a wine cellar. However Kara's X-ray vision had spotted the oddity that was lead shielding. Which had at first made think that the basement had once been a bomb shelter. However a quick investigation had uncovered a hidden door and a staircase which led to a series of rooms hidden beneath the house.

By the looks of things it was Slade's version of the Batcave. It was smaller and it wasn't one large chamber, but it had a lot of what a crime fighter needed to protect a place like Jump City. There was a computer room/lab which had the instruments required to monitor the entire city. There was an armoury, which contained many of the weapons that I knew how to fight with a few I couldn't even hazard a guess as how to use. A fully equipped gym/training room, which I would be making use of a lot. Last of all there was well stocked workshop I had no idea what half the machines did, but before long I was starting to figure some of it out.

So far I'd only managed to get some sort of fabricator working. It was a lot like a 3D printer only it moulded metal rather than plastic. It couldn't make anything larger than a cooking pot, but it was capable of creating things like throwing stars and small blades.

This was handy for me as I had lost a few of my toys during my adventures. The police here always made a good effort to return any tools the Titans had lost while fighting crime, but there was a large market for Super Hero memorabilia. People swapped, sold and even sometimes stole collectables, and in Jump City there were no major celebrities other than the Teen Titans. Which was partly why it was so sad that the group didn't exist any more. However most people in this part of the world didn't tend to treat us heroes as if they were celebrities, we didn't get stalked and the media rarely hounded us either. But still you had the odd person who did obsess over us, and most likely one of them had recovered my missing weapons and kept the tools of my craft for themselves.

Again I didn't really care much about that sort of thing. People could be weird and given that I had mugged the odd mugger, and even stolen a wallet from a burglar. I had no right to judge another person for taking things that didn't really belong to them.

Besides thanks to the machines I'd found, and the all the money I'd inherited from Slade Wilson, I didn't have to worry about paying for replacements. Deathstroke had ensured that his apprentice would be provided for very well.

Currently I was working on my own version of the birdarang. Robin's birdarangs were essentially two crescent blades mounted on a handle. The blades consisted of a strong metal alloy which were had razor-sharpness so that they are capable even of cutting through a large range of materials. However the birdarangs could also be employed to knock an opponent out via blunt force trauma. I'd learned how to throw them to achieve either effect during my early training and I still had a few birdarangs. I'd painted them black to make them look a little different, but that was all.

As for my throwing weapon. It was a small and flat oval, with a skull engraved upon it. This part would be held while the two curved blades on either side of the disc part would do the damage. It was more circler than a birdarang and heavier. Which meant I would have to throw it in a different way, but I could adapt easily enough.

Also my throwing weapons would not be so versatile, or as durable as I lacked the technical knowledge required to create such sophisticated implements of crime fighting. However that didn't mean I couldn't cheat using magic.

Enchanting any weapon was time-consuming process, and doing so didn't actually make the instrument any easier to use. Which was likely why Raven had never bothered to enchant anything of mine. In fact the idea might never of crossed her mind, as she studied the occult to learn new spells and so that she would have the knowledge to defeat mystical foes.

I on the other hand was always looking for spells that would help me to win the next fight. I liked to have plans in place for defeating foes and having magically enhanced weapons would give me more options during a battle. I might be pretty tough by human standards, but compared to some of the threats out there I was still a small fish. So I intended to be a small fish with some sharp teeth.

Upon the prototype skull disc (which was the only name I could think up for the thrown weapon) I had delicately engraved a few words in R'lyehian. If I had done it right, which was questionable at this point, it should enchant the disc in a way that increased the metal's integrity. The word _ehye_ translated as integrity or cohesion. My hope was that this spell would increase the density of the steel I'd used when manufacturing the disc.

Of course it could also weaken the molecular cohesion of the materials. I'd tested the spell verbally upon a piece of wood and the magic had turned into something I could only call sludge. A handy spell if you ever got locked up somewhere as then you could turn a wall into something resembling goo or if you needed to melt something metallic in nature, like say a dangerous weapon, but had no way to generate the heat required. But that wasn't the effect I was going for right now.

Thankfully magic tended to be influenced by a person's intent and emotional state. So as long as I kept focused on what I wanted to achieve and didn't get frustrated the spell should do what I wanted it to. Also if it did work as hoped I could enchant other things. Not just weapons, a spell that increased the molecular cohesion of an object had many uses. For example I could maker my body armour tougher without actually having to increase its weight.

The only flaw my plans was that there were plenty of spells to remove other spells. Which meant that any half decent magic user could undo hours of work with a few words. But on the other hand there were powerful beings in this universe who had no defence against magic. So an enchanted weapon might hurt them.

Just as I carved the last word into the prototype Skulldisc the music I'd been blasting out was turned down. I turned to see Kara, who was carrying a tray of what was most likely my lunch.

"There you are" she said as she sat the tray down "I couldn't find you because of all the lead shielding. I hope you weren't hiding from me".

I gave her a smile and then said.

"Course not love, I was just tinkering".

Kara took a look around and noticed that I had been using a computer to design something and then I'd manufactured it using a rather complex device. She was understandably surprised as I'd never shown much interest in operating machines that weren't for everyday use. Although in my defence I did have a large range of skills I'd still needed to develop.

Creating R'lyehian spells was not easy and since I was the only person, outside of very well hidden cults, that could even use Old Magic I'd had no one to learn from, so I'd had to do a lot of research. Then there were my fighting skills. I could pick up some talents more easily than others, and in order to keep myself at my peak I had to keep training. Add to that my duties and the fact that I'd had girlfriends who needed attention it was no surprise that my plan to get to grips with some of this world's technology hadn't worked out.

Still I wasn't exactly a complete novice when it came to using computers, and I was much better with tools than I use to be as I now had much steadier hands.

Taking off the gloves I'd been wearing I picked up a ham sandwich and was just about to bite into it when Kara picked up the prototype skulldisc.

"You might not want to do that" I warned.

She didn't listen and ended up cutting a finger on one of the blades. It was such a shock to her that she threw the weapon onto a worktop, and then she started to curse in her native tongue.

"What is that thing made of?" she asked.

"Steel" I replied "but its enchanted".

"Magic" she said with concern "isn't that stuff dangerous".

It was actually, but my type of magic seemed to be a lot more predictable than other kinds. Given that it came from a source of chaos it really shouldn't be, but clearly my patron didn't wish me any harm.

"It is" I answered "which is why I'm practising my craft in a lead lined room underground, while by myself".

"Oh yeah," the alien babe said "that makes sense".

Given that magic could hurt her, something she'd just proved, I could see why she'd be nervous about me using the arcane forces of the universe.

She then started sucking on the small wound and then asked me to kiss it better. Which was a bad idea.

"Kryptonian blood has special properties" I reminded "I have no idea how it would effect me. I'm not exactly a normal human being".

No doubt Clark Kent had warned her about such things, and it was hard for us both to remember that we were both a completely different species from each other sometimes.

"Yeah but it might have a good effect" she pointed out.

Then she seemed to get thoughtful before saying.

"Don't drink that milk"

"Why" I asked while giving the glass on the tray a suspicious look.

"Because it breast milk" she supplied "it's mine".

Okay I never would have guessed that. I was so going to need that therapy soon.

"Right then two questions" I said next "Why did you serve me breast milk, and when did you have a baby?"

Kara started to pace the room as if she was trying to buy herself time to think.

"This is really embarrassing" she said to start with "Kryptonian women... lactate when their with a partner who they might want to have children with. It's a bonding thing, like between a baby and mother only it sort of a taste test as well. If it tastes good it means were suited to each other if it doesn't taste good then were wrong for each other, but if your powers work the way I think they do it should taste sweet. It has other effects too, but I have no idea if it work with a human because I've never been in love with a person from this planet before".

That made me pause for a moment as while I'd know that I wasn't her first romantic partner I'd no idea that she'd been in love with him. At some point I would have to discuss that with her but now wasn't the time as this insane issue needed to be dealt with.

"Okay but what does it have to do with my powers?" I questioned.

From I understood about my powers, which had nothing to do with a meta-gene, I could rapidly pick up skills and even develop new talents, but aside from that I was just an immortal who healed rather well and was getting really good at fighting. Sure I was better equipped to survive this insane universe, but how that led to alien breast milk was something that completely befuddled me.

"I'm not sure" admitted my romantic partner "I haven't figured it all out yet, but you know that your powers are all about survival of the fittest. The skills you pick up the fastest are about staying alive and sex".

That was correct. The egg heads up in the Watchtower had a much better understanding of my powers thanks to a lot of testing and prodding. I wasn't actually a meta-human, at least not in the sense of having a meta-gene, I was an improved human who was also an immortal. All my powers were about keeping me alive and successful. That included sexual reproduction as survival of the fittest was also about passing on your genes. In the animal kingdom if you had superior genes, which I did, you got the superior mates. Which in many respects I also did.

"So if your body can change to make you stronger and tougher, then you might change enough that we can make babies. It could take years, and I might be wrong but I'd like to find out if we have a chance to raise a child if it ever happened".

Fair enough. It would be better to know now. I didn't want to raise kids. But then again she did skip forward a thousand years then I might be ready then and there was a good chance that'd actually be waiting for her when she did arrive. At least that was the plan.

"And the taste of your breast milk will tell us that?" I inquired.

This was a weird thing even by the standards of my life.

"No" Kara said before explaining further "I'm lactating because I think you'd be a good father for my children its a sign that I'm willing to have a baby with you. So if you drink it and it tastes good and you feel good then you think I'd be a good mother for your children".

She paused then and started pacing again.

"At least that was how it worked back home. I don't know if it will do anything else to you. You're human and we're under a yellow sun so I really have no idea. But I don't think it could hurt you because it's just milk really, even if did make you a little ill because it tastes really bad, well you don't get sick like at all".

That seemed reckless and I was also a little offended that she had just told me all of this as soon as she'd started to express milk. Then again not to long ago I'd attack her at Slade's order so really I had no right to tell her off because she'd been too embarrassed to confess something very personal.

"I figured I'd just give it a try. If it was sour well... we might never have children so its not that big of a deal".

She might of said that but I could tell that it was in fact a very big deal.

"How can it make me feel good?" I asked next.

Kara stopped and then sighed before crossing her arms. An act that always drew my attention to her chest and to be fair they should really be on my mind given what we were discussing.

"If it tastes good then it induces a slight state of euphoria" she said in a way that made me think she was quoating some form of written material

"Euphoria is..."

"I know what euphoria is" I said interrupting "It's an emotional condition in which a person experiences feelings of extreme happiness".

Then I paused before saying.

"That can be addictive you know. If it contains endorphins then I could become hooked on the stuff".

Addictive breast milk. Just when you think you've prepared for everything life can really throw you a curve ball.

"Don't you become immune to that sort of stuff?" Kara asked, once more sounding concerned.

That was true. I did tend to adapt to resist such things, but that didn't always work. I could no longer become addicated to nicotine but I could still get drunk, so some things still effected me.

"Anyway it's not like I'd cut you off, and its healthy cause its got vitamins and stuff" she while starting to pace even faster.

Again that threw me a little.

"Does that mean it doesn't stop?" I asked, almost in a panic "I thought it was a taste test thing".

Those sort of things don't tend to last long.

"Not unless I get pregnant or stop loving you, but that's not going to suddenly happen and until you drink it I don't know if you love me as much as I love you".

Wow that was a lot of pressure.

"And because we're under a yellow sun, I'm making a lot" she added "if we were on Kypton it wouldn't be much but I'm a total freak here".

Yeah defiantly feeling some increased pressure here. Then again this had be driving her mad as well. Hence why she felt like such a freak.

"You're suppose to drink it from the source" she then further added "it's a bonding thing for partners. Well that was what they told me in sex ed and I know were different species, but you like my breasts, and if it tastes good and makes you happy then what's the harm. I'd be in a way better mood if I wasn't worry about it, and then we could... you know".

That was when I remembered that Kara and I hadn't had sex or even been in bed together much for the last few days. We had been busy, what with closing down the Titans, and then joining the League, but she had to be be missing the affection by now. In fact I was starting to as well but I was more use to being by myself so I'd not gotten depressed about it.

However I didn't appreciate the emotional blackmail she was employing. In fact as I did know some some psychology I even knew what type of emotional blackmail she was employing: Tantalizer's Threat. The whole thing wasn't that far off a parent saying that if I ate all my vegetables then I'd get a nice pudding.

Still if your going to pressure someone into doing something this was the kinder way to do, and she could of gone through with the trick even after cutting herself so I decided to be forgiving about the whole thing.

"Oh what the hell" I muttered "it can't kill me".

With that I grabbed the glass and started drinking it. I'd prepared for bitterness so I was surprised by how sweet it tasted. It wasn't too cloying either not like those surgery and fizzy soda drinks people kept filling the Titan Tower's fridges with.

Plus there was something else.

"Tell me, is it sweet?" Kara practically begged to know.

"Yes" was my answer "kind of reminds of cola only without the bubbles and all the sugar, but it still tastes good. And there's a hint of caffeine, which explains the cola taste I guess".

I really had no idea if it was me or the milk that made it taste that way, and I didn't want to get more freaked out so I didn't ask.

"It's suppose to taste like a sweet drink you enjoy and you do like caffeine so that makes sense".

I did indeed like caffeine, and yeah the milk was really weird if the flavour depended on what I enjoyed drinking. Clearly this was a bizarre super power of some sort.

"So you feel good?" was the next question.

The response wasn't a direct one.

"You know when it's been raining for ages, then you go out to see that's its a really sunny day and it just makes everything seem better. If you could make that into a drink than this would be the flavour".

Which made less sense when said out loud but that was how I felt, and apparently it was an acceptable answer to as I got tackled into a hug by my girlfriend. After that she started planting kisses all over my face as she moved my hands down to her backside. I was just lucky that she was still showing some self control or she might of broken something of mine by now.

As for me I started with neck, I gently bite and kissed her so that it sent shivers running through her body. With my hands I grabbed Kara's blue skirt and then lifted it up.

This made her squirm and since she was pressed into me it felt really good. My very werid but still very sex girlfriend let out a few soft moans of pleasure as I squeezed her ass. My fingers brushed against the cotton fabric cover her pussy, and I could feel how wet she had become already.

"Please, take them off" she pleaded

When she spoke like that it only made me want her more, and I couldn't help but grant her that wish. But first I had to put the ring on her finger otherwise we might end up wreaking the workshop or at the very least I'd get wreaked.

Once she had the ring on I cleared a space on the nearest counter and then I lifted Kara up and moved her so that she was sitting on it. Given that she was shorter than me this putting her on the counter actually made it easier for me to pull her cotton panties right off.

Then after throwing her underwear into the corner of the room I went back to kissing her. I told her to lean back and when she did I lifted up her t-shirt (which was a cheery pink) so that I could kiss her flat stomach. I then kissed my way up and would of gone further, only her top was in the way.

"Take that off" I ordered

She smiled and said.

"With pleasure"

To my surprise I found that she was wearing a bra. She rarely did, as she didn't need to wear them at all and I couldn't remember the last time she worn one at home.

"They're getting bigger" Kara explained "that happens as well".

I hadn't actually noticed that, which was odd because I paid her boobs a lot of attention.

"I've gone up a size in two days, and I think they're going to get bigger" she then informed before making her voice more sexy "and they're all yours, no one else gets to see them or play with them and I'll get them out whenever you want".

Okay so the expressing milk thing was a bit freaky, but there seemed to be a big up side to the whole thing. Her boobs were getting bigger and she clearly wanted to me to spend time playing with them.

She then removed the bra so I could get a good look at them. They were in fact bigger than ever and still somehow incredibly firm.

"What do you think?" she asked me.

Rather than say anything I passionately kissed her on the lips before moving down to her neck, before moving back to her lips and kissing her for a while so that she could suck on my tonuge.

Then I went for the more powerful then ever Super Boobs. After giving them a good squeeze I checked to see Kara's reaction. Her eyes were closed and she was biting her lower lip. She so wanted more.

I started slowly, knowing that this would drive my girlfriend to the point were she beg me for sex. I loved it when she did that. Having a goddess beg you to use her for your pleasure was such a rush.

By now I was kissing the side of her breast moving up, going from one to the other, never kissing in the same spot twice and I didn't get too close to her nipples.

After hearing say please a few times I finally I gave in to her. I was kissing and sucking on her nipples. I felt a little liquid enter my mouth, but only a little and it tasted nice. So overall the experience wasn't freaking me out as much as I thought it might.

Kara groaned as sher hands wrapped around my shoulders and she started to squezze. If she hadn't been depowered as much as she was something would of broken by now. If not for the fact that I was super human I was sure I'd of gotten brusies from this.

Not that I would of cared, it's hard to care about that sort of thing when you've got Supergirl's breasts shoved into your face.

It wasn't until I stopped with my fun that Kara found the brainpower to speak.

"Fuck me" she requested.

I badly wanted her to, but I also enjoyed it when she begged. She knew that to and so she batted her eyelids and gave me a smile.

"Please, pretty please".

Not begging really but I never could resit that look. So I got undressed and then got inside her.

It didn't take Kara long to reach climax, which was to be expected as she must of been close when we'd started. I could tell that her breasts were very sensative and all that teasing had gotten her so worked up that by the time I'd suckled on her she looked as if her brain had mostly switched off. Now she looked like it totally melted and I wasn't even close yet.

Thankfully for me Kara was the kind of girl who left her man unsatisfed. She was able to think enough to move into a postion that let me use her body for my pleasure and she started speaking in her native laungage. I had no idea what she was saying, and it didn't sound like her useal dirty talk either, but she was smiling while saying it so it must of been something good.

It didn't stop until I really started ponding her, and she soon switched to English so that she could beg me to use her. Which of course I did and she greatly enjoyed it. She told me more than once that rough sex made her feel like a girl, but it made me seem like the big strong man. Not that I wasn't strong by human standerds it was just that without the ring she was a goddess. At least in my view.

"Feeling better?" I asked once I was done.

A big smile told me that she did indeed feel better, and the sight of her using her fingers to gather up some of my cum so she could get a taste proved that she feeling much than just better.

"Yeah everything's great" she said after sucking on her finger and letting me see her big smile "not knowing is the worse, but when you know it all becomes wonderful".

As she started to recover her clothes I heard myself tell her that I loved her. I hadn't meant to say that and I couldn't remember saying it before, but it was true.

"Oh you knew what I was saying".

She then went squee and then to hug me again. Thankfully she didn't take her ring off until after she'd tried to crush my spin. I would of told her that I didn't know what she meant but that required the ability to breathe out.

That was when I realised that the alien speak earlier had been about love. I hadn't understood a word of it, but the feeling behind the words made more sense now.

"I'll let you get back to work" she told me once she had let go of me "I've got some stuff to take care of. I'll catch up with you at dinner. I'll cook something nice".

Before I could ask her about what she still had to do she left in a blur. Only to come right back when she realised that she was still half naked. This time she got dressed and then skipped out of the room rather than race off.

Defianly love. Nothing else could be so sappy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Reviews ** **tylermech66**

Kara is indeed awesome. I'm really tempted to start writing DC Gothic – LOSH after she goes to the future, just so I can keep the character in the spotlight.

**Dark0w1 **

I've written a lot more recently. My home life has calmed down so I have the time now.

**Joe Lawyer**

Oh he will do more training and work to pick up new skills, but a lot of his time is taken up with being a Justice League member and a boyfriend. He's also looking after Ace, as you'll see later, and will be working along with Blackfire. But that's okay as he learns best by being shown how to do things. A training program wouldn't benefit him as much as on the job training does anyway.

When it comes to killing I think most heroes are afraid of what it would turn them into.

Take Superman for example, if he used his powers to kill every person who was a murderer, where would he draw the line? Does everybody whose killed somebody deserves to die? What about a drunk driver who hits someone and the person they hit dies? Does the driver deserve to be killed with heat vision?

This was what a lot of Superman versus The Elite was about. By the end The Elite were no better than the people they killed.

Also Superman won't kill because he's scared of what it will turn him into. We've seen that in his Justice Lord counterpart and in Injustice Gods Among Us. Whenever Superman crosses that line it ends with him ruling over the Earth as a tyrant.

Batman doesn't kill because of his own past, and because he swore to let the courts do their work. He supports due process and the rule of law, so if he killed people he'd go from being a crime fighter to being a criminal.

Other heroes think that they need to be examples of what people should be like. They disapprove of killing as they believe people shouldn't kill each other. So how can they claim to stand up for their high ideals if they don't represent them.

My character in this story is different. He has no desire to be a guiding light for humanity. He will kill to protect people he cares about, and that doesn't work out for the best in the end. He becomes the world's best assassin as Shadow Knight and Dark Angel. At that point he is a lot like Deathstroke, so the heroes who judged in the last chapter are right. He does turn into the very thing he swore to destroy. Granted he was never as bad Slade, but he could have been if he'd carried on working for Amanda Waller.

Starfire understood after she went to the future, but despite the efforts she made she was only able to delay Gothic's fall. Batman also knows this can happen, which is part of why he brought Gothic into the Batclan. Bruce is trying to show Gothic that his way is better without lecturing him. Like Superman would do if his cousin would let him. Green Lantern was trying to be a drill sergeant, because he has a military background, but he did that because he does want he thinks is best for Gothic. None of them are bad people they do care about him, they just don't understand him.

Of course if the heroes were willing to accept Gothic's methods he might never have become Dark Angel, but if they were willing to turn a blind eye then they wouldn't be the moral people that they are.

Overall it's a complex issue. Lots of people have lots of different opinions. What matters in this part of the story is that Gothic has to play by the League's rules in order to stay a member, and he'll do that because despite his own view he is a hero. He's just not the kind of hero that other people want him to be.

I'm glad people liked the Big Bang Theory bit.

The Nth metal sword? Nothing happened to it. He doesn't use it as the Welsh Dragon, as that is a separate superhero identity from Gothic. He doesn't use it as Shadowflight either. He doesn't want everyone to know that they all are the same person.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Shadowflight Returns. **

****The Docks - Gotham City – October 2002** **

It was raining, that seemed to happen a lot in Gotham, so much so that the city was starting to make me home sick for good old soggy England. Granted Gotham was a lot more scary looking, what with the imposingly tall buildings, gargoyles and all the crime. Even during the day the place had a very gloomy vibe, as it was currently the dead of night the effect was a hundred times worse.

Still it wasn't all bad, I had no reason to fear being murdered and my Shadowflight costume kept me warm as well as dry even on this wet autumn evening. It was a lot like Nightwing's outfit only it had a dash of dull silver rather than blue. The silver had been added to the suit more recently, to make it more clear that there was a connection between Shadowflight and the Batclan.

That my Batclan uniform was a close copy of Richard Grayson's was no confidence. Batman hadn't had the time needed to make something new so he had simply modified one of Nightwing's spares that were kept in the Batcave. It was bulkier than the one used by the former Robin, but since I hadn't been raised as an acrobat I didn't need such a flexible suit.

Overall I liked the outfit, even it was a little body hugging in certain place, but I'd only worn the suit a couple of times, as I'd hadn't spent much time in this city. Which was totally understandable given what had happened to me during my road trip at the start of this year.

Back then I'd been very worried about what the Joker might do to Tim Drake. After telling the Batman the story, he too had become concerned about the Boy Wonder going on solo patrols. So I'd been fitted out and sent along as backup. Thankfully nothing had happened to Tim, which was good because a lot of the time I'd supposed to have been on patrol had been taken up by Catwoman.

Thinking on that made me reach for the Eye of the Panther, that was tucked away in my utility belt. It was one of a matching pair of strange green jewels, that dated back to ancient Egypt.

The odd thing about the set was that they were magical. If you had one you could find the other. You just seemed to know and I had once used my gem to track down a kidnapped Selena Kyle.

As it had turned out the whole thing had been a test set up by the near-immortal Ra's al Ghul. A test of what exactly I to this day didn't really understand, but I must of passed since I was still engaged to his daughter. Boy was that going to cause problems one day.

"Thinking about Selena?" inquired Richard Grayson.

Another reason why it was so appropriate for me to be wearing my Shadowflight outfit was that I was currently working along with Nightwing on an important case.

It hadn't been planned, in fact the whole thing had started off when Kara had decided to go and visit Barbara Gordon, who was now living with Grayson in the city of Bludhaven. I'd met Richard before, and he'd been fun to hang with, so I'd figured that the two of us could chill while the girls did whatever they wanted to do.

However Batman was busy with the League and there was something happening down in the docks tonight. Two gangs were meeting for an unknown reason and Nightwing had decided to be there. I'd tagged along mostly because Kara and Barbara were planning to watch a chick flick, and it had seemed best to flee upon hearing about. Richard hadn't minded because he'd known that he'd be spending a few hours watching the docks. He'd figured that some company would help to pass the time.

"Just remembering the last time I was in Gotham" I eventually answered.

"You had quite a good time judging by what Tim told me" Nightwing said with a big grin.

I'd forgotten to close the radio channel so when Tim Drake had reopened it on his end he'd heard what I was up to. I doubted that he would have listened in for long if not for the fact that he'd known how Raven had felt about me even back then.

Nightwing had also been the one to explain to me what the Eyes of the Panther were actually for. Without that knowledge I might not of kept the gem stone, and that would have been bad for Miss Kyle.

"Selena's one hell of a lady" remarked Grayson "something we both know very well".

Unlike him my face was fully covered, so it must have been something in my body language that told him how I was surprised to hear him say that.

"Catwoman and I worked together on a case a while back" Nightwing explained "she was just using me, but damn didn't she made it worth my while. I still have a scar to remember her by".

Wow, Selena must have a thing for tall, dark and handsome heroes. No doubt The Bat had a few scars as well. Maybe she liked to mark her mates because she'd tried to cut my chest enough to leave one, but I healed too well for that.

"Well she's over there somewhere" I informed while pointing out to sea "very far away".

My magical powers always seemed to be growing stronger, so it made sense that I will be able to use enchanted items better than I use to. Wanting to test this I focused my attention on the gem stone and felt a brief rush of excitement followed by joy.

"I think she's on a job" I told the first Robin "she just got the kind of big rush you get when you've done something really difficult".

Since I could sense that over such a distance I could only assume that Catwoman had her Eye on the Panther on her person. Odd thing for a cat to do as felines don't tend to form attachments to their mates, and she'd never turned up in Jump City. Unlike a certain make up wearing whack job I'd once had some fun with.

Maybe Selena wanted me to find her so I'd chase her and then fight her again. Heck for Catwoman that could be considered foreplay, she was a bit crazy. Not that this would happen, but it was nice to think that she kept a memento of our short time together.

"You've come along way since then" Nightwing commented "last time we hung out you were getting into all sorts of trouble and the boss had to rescue you".

I sort of recalled that. I'd been pretty out of it at the time, but I did have a hazy memory of throwing up inside the Batmoblie. Although that may of just been a nightmare.

"Now your this powerful magic user whose in the Justice League, and you have Supergirl living in your house".

The last ten months or so had been very intense, and I had greatly grown in both power and skill. Also things had gone from strange to down right crazy, that was just my love life.

"Things have changed for you" I reminded "you've got Batgirl living with you, that's awesome".

I'd only just met her and I Barbara Gordon was already one of my favourite people in the world. She had a good sense of humour. She also seemed to treat Kara as a friend and as her own person, rather than just the big boy scouts kid cousin, so that made her cool in my books. Plus Nightwing lived in an old fire station, which was also so cool. The place looked abandoned on the outside, but on the inside it was a home and the nerve centre of a one man crime fighting business. I suspected that perhaps one day soon it would be a two person operation. Miss Gordon still worked and lived in Gotham, but given how comfortable she'd looked at Richard's place, she must have spent a lot of time there over the past few months.

"She is great" Grayson admitted with a warm smile.

With that said we both spent a few moments wondering what our partners were up to.

(Line Break)

****Nightwing's Hideout - Bludhaven – October 2002** **

On the top floor of the converted fire house Kara Kent and Barbara were both dry and warm. They had wrapped themselves in fluffy towels and equally fluffy robes, and then given themselves what amounted to a home-made spa treatment. This had involved nail polish, a few different kinds of crème, some of which was now coated on their faces, as well as other things that no straight man could ever figure out.

The end result were two young women who looked very happy and smelled rather good even if they did look a little scary right now.

After all that had came two glasses of wine and two bowls full ice cream, both of which were expensive. Which you would expect when it came to good wine, but really how costly could it be to make mint chocolate ice cream.

Kara was loving ever moment of it. All of the evening had been so normal, and after everything that had happen over the last few weeks she was really grateful that she had a night off. So far this month had been stressful, she'd moved into a new home with her boyfriend and then had found herself falling in love as well getting a bit broody. Not the sullen kind of brooding but the wanting to have babies kind. She didn't want to have children now, even if her body had its own opinions, but that hadn't been the problem. The whole lactating thing had been extremely embarrassing, but it had worked out okay, and now she put those troubles behind her and enjoy a girl's night while the romantic partners of her self and her best friend went out, and hit things with sticks.

"This movie is a legend" Barbara Gordon said as she put the tape in the VHS player "every girl at my college says that it's impossible to see more than half an hour of this film, and not cry. It's that sappy".

Given that the tape was ninety minutes long that was a whole lot of crying.

"It's also suppose to be watched with your boyfriend, because you will need a shoulder to cry on, and by the end you won't even need him to make a move" added the off duty Batgirl "I heard it gets a little adult at the end".

Both of the young women looked at each other and burst into giggles.

"Yeah like some movies going to make us cry" said Kara with a confident smirk.

The last bit didn't sound bad at all as she was in a really good mood, but she had no intention of getting all weepy because of a video.

"Right sister" agreed Barbara "we're 21st Century women, strong, confident and independent we don't need a man's shoulders to cry on".

After that declaration Batgirl pressed play and joined Supergirl on the couch, as the movie started to started filling her mouth with popcorn while steeling herself so that no sappy scene would get to her.

Less than an hour later Kara and Barbara were weeping so much that they were at the risk of running out of paper tissues.

"That's so sweet" the alien babe said between sobs "I can't believe he kept those photos"

Kara then filled her mouth with more ice cream while trying to wipe her eyes, it got quite messy.

"I know and the plane crash that was so tragic" added the female native of planet Earth

At some point decided that an entire can of whipped creamed needed to be eaten, and she wasn't going to be dignified about it.

After that the two women buried their heads into nearby pillows as an even more sappy scene came on the screen.

(Line Break)

****The Docks - Gotham City – October 2002** **

"I bet they're just watching a movie" Nightwing said.

Any further comments on that subject would never be made as the two heroes soon spotted a group of cars entering the docks. A nearby ship at anchor turned on some lights as the motor vehicles came to a stop. This was were the deal would go down.

"Time to go to work" Grayson whispered as he took out his telescoping staff.

Given that Richard had trained Tim in use of that weapon it was no surprise to me that he also made use of them. I had quite a few now as Slade had also liked to hit things with big sticks. Sometimes I just had to wonder who I'd picked up that habit from.

"Wait until I give the signal" instructed Batman's apprentice "then take down the guys with the Tommy guns, before you hit the boss. He'll be in Rolls Royce".

The Tommy Gun guys were the local trouble makers, the muscle of some crime boss who though it would be easier to do business with some out-of-town trouble makers while the Bat so busy with the Justice League.

He was so wrong about that.

"What's the signal?" I asked, as I took out my collapsible staff.

"People in pain" was the answer.

Well at least it would be easy to remember.

The rest of the plan wasn't that complex either to be honest, even if it was important enough that Batman would only trust his apprentice to handle this for him.

Nightwing had the most experience so he would take on the group on the boat as they were more spread about. I would be by the cars, the thugs there were closer together. One smoke bomb in the middle would make taking down the rest nearly effortless. The boss might be trickier as by the time I took his goons down he would have time to drive off or to make a run for it.

I wasn't wearing the belt that allowed me to fly, as this mission required some stealth. Also we needed the Gotham Police to find these guys once they had been tipped off by 'a concerned citizen'. So if I used magic it wouldn't look like the Batman could have been involved. This mission was also about reminding the criminal scum of who Gotham city really belonged to.

Those weren't my kind of methods, but this wasn't my town. Batman wouldn't come to Jump City and start dangling my foes off rooftops, so I would not come here and threaten people with guns or summon Old One Spawn when in his town.

Nimbly I leapt onto a shipping crate and then used that one to get on top of three stacked ones. From this height I could see the two groups of criminal scum. The natives of this city were clumped together and armed with those Tommy guns, but thankfully their attention was focused on the crooks on the boat.

Since there were no screams or even loud grunts of pain I simply kept watch and made sure that my tools of the trade were ready for use.

Then came a scream as someone fell off the boat and into the water. Given that the ship was docked it was very unlikely that someone had fallen overboard by accident.

"_Kadishtu nilgh'ri r'luh uaaah" _I whispered as I threw the smoke bomb.

Okay so I would use a little magic, but I did need to make sure that I'd kept practicing all of my talents.

The spell worked as well as ever and the smoke vanished, but only for me. The thugs were choking and wiping their eyes so I knew the bomb had been effective. With the advantage of clear vision, and a mask that filtered the air for me, I was easily able to knock out the hoodlums. A couple of the bad guys ran for it, but I had been prepared for this.

Strapped to my thigh was a chakram, a weapon made famous by Xena: Warrior Princess. It was a ring of enchanted steel that looked like a hollow Frisbee. I threw the chakram and it knocked the guy out and then bounced in such a way that it went on to hit the other runner in the head as well.I hadn't been able to master throwing to the point were I could get it to hit people and then catch it, but it was only a matter of time before I perfected the use of this weapon.

Moving fast I made the staff in my left hand expand and then firmly gripped it. My next move was to jump on top of the car so that when the driver stepped out he got hit in the head before he could do anything other than curse.

As fast as that was it wasn't quick enough to prevent the man coming out the passenger door at the back of the car from reaching for his weapon. However I was still fast to knock the weapon out of his hand, and the to hit him in the head in order to knock him out.

For just a second my head was filled with the memory of Kara calling me a caveman while she'd been watching me hit a practice dummy the other day. Actually she'd called me 'her big, sexy caveman' but it wasn't until now that I realised that I really did so like hitting people with sticks. It was all very primitive. Then again given how advanced her people had been calling me a cavemen was being generous.

Those thoughts came to an end as someone came out of one of the other parked cars. This lawbreaker was older than the others, judging by the grey hair and he was wearing an expensive suit so I assumed that this was the big boss man. He was my main target.

In his hand the crime boss had a pistol. It was not a 9mm or anything more advanced, it looked like an old fashioned revolver only it brand new, and it was black and silver. I so had to have it.

So I took it, and I did not ask nicely.

"Oh God! My hand! You broke it!" complained the bad guy.

"You should be more worried about the state of your face" I said the soon to be knocked out man.

To the crook's credit he figured out what I meant before I even hit him. Still the end result was the same.

"Are you done yet?" asked Nightwing, as I removed the bullets from the weapon and tucked the gun into my belt.

"Did you finish your lot already?" I question.

"Sure" the more experienced crime fighter replied "I even got the chance to see you throw that disc".

Showing off, Nightwing span the chakram while balancing it on the tip of one of his fingers.

"Where did you get this form" the former Boy Wonder inquired "and what's with the weird writing?"

"I made it" I explained "and the writings a spell. It makes the metal more durable".

"So it's a magic throwing disc" said Nightwing "that's cool".

He seemed to rather like it, so I told him he could have it.

"I can always make more" I assured him after he'd refused the offer "that's just the prototype anyway, the next one will be better".

Since he wasn't as stubborn as his mentor Nightwing simply said thank you. Clearly he wasn't one to say no to the offer a useful tool. He didn't have super powers, so it would be foolish for him not to make sure he had the widest range of equipment it was possible to have.

Then the first Robin showed off again by throwing the chakram and then catching it after it bounced off a few shipping crates.

"Yeah you should have that" I said while feeling very impressed.

That was when we heard the sirens and knew it was time to head home.

(Line Break)

****Nightwing's Hideout - Bludhaven – October 2002** **

Since we had our bikes it didn't take us long to get back to the old fire station, and we did the both of us headed up to get changed. Only things didn't go quiet to plan as soon as we entered the living area we both assaulted by our respective girlfriends.

The two of them had been crying, but they didn't seem to be any sort of pain so I had no idea what the problem was.

"What's wrong" Nightwing and I asked at the same time.

Kara wasn't de-powered so only my own natural toughness and body forming Kevlar armour I wore as part of the Shadowflight suit, allowed me to keep breathing as she hugged me.

"Romantic film" my girlfriend told me "it got me all weepy"

"How sappy was it?" I inquired.

"Grande Histoire D'Amour" Batgirl answered.

That didn't lessen my confusion, but Nightwing understood what had happened.

"Oh that one" Grayson said with a sigh "I've heard it makes everyone cry".

"Great Romance Story" I translated "some sort of French art film I'm guessing".

"The ending's suppose to be quite... adult" Grayson "but a tasteful way from what I understand".

Maybe I should get the DVD?

"Yeah we're going to bed now" Barbara Gordon told her boyfriend before turning to Kara and saying with a wink "you can use the guest room if you want to stay the night".

"Apparently it's better than I heard" Nightwing commented as was he pulled towards the bedroom.

I didn't fail to notice that the off-duty Batgirl had a can of whipped crème in other hand. Someone was getting very lucky tonight.

"Yeah we're staying here" decided Kara as she picked up the melted remains of her ice cream "you're so going to give me that ring".

"Oh is that right" I said with a smirk "are you going to say please?"

Kara smiled in reply before saying.

"No I'm going to cover parts of my body in ice cream, and let you decide what happens after that".

"Best girlfriend ever!"


	6. Chapter 6

**DarkAvenger001**

I don't know any anime/manga universes well enough to write about them.

**Joe Lawyer**

I thought it was a rather clever idea when it popped into my head. I wanted something to show that Kara is Kryptonian, she's not a human being, even if she act like one, so it seemed natural for them to have to deal with that. The milk thing is strange, but it's something they can handle and accepting that she is an alien brings them closer together.

Also I got the impression that Kryptonians might mate for life as Clark's love for Lois Lane never seems to diminish. In fact for him it's a very intense love. It might be because of his upbringing with the Kents. But I thought maybe Kara would feel like that about Gothic in this story, because for her species that's how mating works.

It makes her staying the future more understandable as well. In the 21st Century Gothic can't settle down and devote himself completely to Kara. However a thousand years later he's free to be her life partner, which given that Kara could live for centuries it is a big commitment.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Black Mercy **

**The Fortress of Solitude – The North Pole – October **

"What did you get him?" Batman asked of us all as we made our way through the tunnel that led into the fortress.

As expected Wonder Woman had the new kind of rose that was named after Krypton. Seemed a bit of a sissy to me, but I wasn't going to say anything as offending Wonder Woman can led to pain.

"I'm not saying anything" Kara answered as she walked alongside me.

I knew exactly what it was, but I was saying nothing about that either, as I wanted a piece of the yummy cake she had baked for her cousin.

"He'll hear and spoil the surprise" she then added in a hushed whisper, as if it was all a big consipercy.

"He has X-ray vision" pointed out the Dark Knight "so he can just peek".

Kara smiled and then said.

"I know he told me that he used to do that so he could see what he was getting for Christmas. He still does".

Sometimes Big Blue was also such a big kid.

"Show him what you got, honey" requested my girlfriend.

I was very proud of this gift. It was something I'd inherited from Slade, and even Kara hadn't known that it was from her home world. She'd thought that I'd just engraved the S symbol into a five sided piece of metal. Even I'd thought it was something along those lines at first, but after using the lab that was hidden below my house I'd analysed the metal as best I could.

When I'd gotten nowhere with that. Kara had tried and had told me that it was as dense as lead but weighed far less. Which meant it wasn't from Earth because lead was the only metal found here that she and her cousin couldn't see through. Not counting the enchanted metals I made, but that was magic, which according to her is cheating.

Also like the metals I added magic to, this alien metal could make Kara bleed. She'd cut herself on it, and since I knew it wasn't supernatural that confirmed that it was something well beyond human science.

However what was really freaky was after the blood touched it the piece of five sided metal would float above the palm of her hand. Then it would rotate slowly. Neither of us could figure out why, but since it reacted to her blood it had to be from her home world and the symbol on it meant it was from the House of El.

"It's a kryptonian artefact" I explained while holding up the heavy lead lined box "I figured it belonged here, and I'm sure he'd love to examine it".

The Dark Knight nodded his agreement while Wonder Women remarked that it could also be very valuable.

Wonder Woman then looked over at Batman and noticed that he didn't have a present in his hands.

"How about you?" she asked of him.

"He's not the easiest person in the world to buy birthday presents for" he replied as he lifted up a sealed white envelope.

Wonder Woman seemed quite shocked to see the envelope.

"Bruce, you didn't get him a gift certificate, did you?" she asked in a scolding tone.

Those two were so doing it. She was chiding Batman just like a girlfriend would do in this sort of situation.

"No its _cash_." he explained as he stuffed the envelope back into his belt.

For some reason this made Wonder Woman smile at him.

"I mean what do you buy for the man who has everything..." Batman began.

He stopped talking when he heard Wonder Woman gasp at the sight before us. Superman was just standing there, stock still with a zoned out look upon his face. But that was not the weirdest thing about him. Stuck on his chest was a strange looking creature.

I then knew what as going on.

"Black Mercy" I muttered.

Batman moved forward, and then said.

"I was wondering if this would happen. Your future knowledge suggested as much, but with the changes in the time line I couldn't be certain".

"What is going on?" Wonder Woman demanded to know.

"It does look like some kind of plant" Batman surmised as he completely ignored the Amazon Warrior "Seems to be growing through his costume and…into his body".

Given that there was little on this planet that could break Superman's skin, we all knew then just how dangerous this life form was.

"Is he breathing?" Diana asked out of concern for her close friend.

"Barely" replied The Batman while continuing to inspect the plant.

"Yeah but that's not the problem" I reminded the Dark Knight

"Right, Mongul " Bruce said with a growl.

Mongul had been the ruler of an oppressed planet where alien gladiators had battled endlessly in an effort to distract the masses from their poverty and suffering. Mongul's tyranny was brought to and end thanks to the actions of Superman and the Martian Manhunter.

"He's the one who forced Superman to fight in War World" I informed in case the name didn't ring any bells for the two ladies in the group.

"Looks like he thought it was a gift" Kara said as she picked up a container and began to examine the metal canister that was lying on the ground next to Superman's feet "its lead lined so he couldn't of known it was dangerous until he opened it".

"And since he opened it that means he thought it was from someone trustworthy" Batman added "a grateful world, or maybe even one of us".

I doubted he was including me in that statement.

"How remarkable. You animals really are _almost_ intelligent, aren't you?"

The alien was even uglier than the cartoon series portrayed. His skin was a sickly yellow, and the purple clothing he wore clashed with his complexion in such a way as to make his appearance seem even worse.

"Mongul" Batman growled again.

Clearly the Dark Knight did not like this fellow, but who could? There was nothing about this despot to like.

"You recognize me, I'm flattered." Mongul said as he made his way down the stairs and walked over towards us

He was arrogant enough to think that he had the situation fully under his control. I knew this because he seemed to be completely relaxed, despite the fact that all of must of looked as if wanted to beat the shit out of him.

"I suppose Superman told you all about our previous encounter?"

I'd seen it. A few times actually.

"You mean the time he utterly defeated you?" Batman replied.

"A somewhat _jondest_…account" Mongul said as he began to inspect the group.

"What inferior specimens he surrounds himself with" the alien remarked "human animals and a little girl".

With that Mongul hit Kara so hard that she went flying into the wall hard enough to crack the ice, and to make the entire room shake.

"I took her down easily enough And I'll take this planet _just_ as easily."

As expected I felt anger began to stir in me as I saw how hurt Kara looked, and the fire appeared in my hands but something was wrong. I didn't feel mad enough to use the demonic flames as a weapon. I was calming down and the fire began to fade.

It wasn't hard to figure out why given how calm I felt. I was doped up on Kara's milk. To much happiness, sure it was good for me physically and I felt better than ever emotional, but the side effect was that I couldn't feel the rage needed to call upon my dark powers.

Thankfully I didn't need to as Wonder Woman was putting up a good fight, and just because I wasn't able to get mad that didn't mean I was lacking for other tricks. But before I could go and help the Amazon Warrior I heard my girlfriend call out to me.

"Power armour. It's the lab near my room!"

Now I remembered that Kara had brought the armour here for upgrades. If I could get to it in time I might be able to make a difference.

"GO!" shouted out Batman "Both of you. Diana can't stop him alone".

With that I ran and I felt the gust of wind that I always sensed when Kara used her super speed.

(Line Break)

"The Black Mercy is a telepathic species. It reads the hearts' desire and feeds the individual a totally convincing simulation of it" Batman muttered.

He remembered those words as Gothic had quoted them to him directly. Apparently it had been one of his favourite episodes. Of course the reality was more upsetting, but on the plus side it did mean that Bruce knew what he needed to do now. It was pointless to try and cut the creature off, or try to burn it.

"So that means he'll be dreaming" Batman said to himself as he remembered that part of a long conversation with Shadowflight earlier in the year.

"_It will be more than a dream" _Gothic had said _"the Black Mercy will read his mind and will trap Superman in a fantasy world so wonderful that he won't ever want to leave, but he'll have to stop Mongul"._

"Listen to me Clark" said the Batman "Kara and Diana are fighting Mongul, but even between them they might not win. If he kills them then he will try to conquer this world. Millions will die. Unless you wake up!"

(Line Break)

After crashing through the wall and slamming into a display that was made up of advanced Earth weapons, and even deadlier alien ones. Wonder Woman fell to the ground and struggled to stand up again.

Meanwhile Mongul made his way through the newest hole in the wall. The Amazon Princess had hurt him a little, but this was only a temporary setback. She was no match for him and the little blonde girl lacked the raw might of Superman, so she couldn't stop him either.

As he walked through the wall, Wonder Woman looked around and grabbed a strange looking weapon. Which she then aimed right at Mongul. He wasn't really worried as such weapons couldn't kill him, but he did know this was going to sting just a bit.

"Oh dear, is that a high-energy ionizer? I didn't know they were still making those" the ugly alien said as he lumbered forward.

As he moved closer, Diana took aim and while she didn't open fire she badly wanted to.

"I recommend you to try the atomic disrupter. It's more suitable for the ladies, the ionizer that's a man's weapon" mocked Mongul.

That had been the wrong thing to say.

"Go…to…Tartarus" said the Amazon warrior, and with that she fired the high-energy ionizer

The beam slammed into Mongul who just took the hit and then pushed through the beam, Diana could look on in dismay. This weapon could hurt Superman, but this strang being was only being slowed down by it. Clearly Mongul was nothing like anything she had faced before

Just as Mongul managed to make his way over to her, the yellow skinned tyrant suddenly found himself being sent into a wall. Supergirl was going to show the alien exactly why she sometimes called the Maid of Might.

Sadly she'd underestimated Mongul and was soon the one getting a beating. But she didn't have to suffer long as Wonder Women fired again.

However once the weapon finished discharging, Mongul stood unharmed.

"You can't stop me" the evil alien gloated.

Taking aim again, she fired only for Mongul to grab the weapon by the barrel and crush it. Upon crushing it he then tossed it away and grabbed Diana by her throat with his right hand, the Amazon princess tried to counter with a left hook to his face, but he just ignored as he wrapped his other hand around her throat. Then he started chocking the very life out of her.

That was when she was saved again, but this time it was not by Supergirl. The Welsh Dragon had made a sudden and surprise appearance. Well it was a surprise Mongul, as he had no idea where the guy in the power armour had come from or who he was.

After landing a few blows,. Gothic backed off and let lose a burst of white hot flame. His demonic powers weren't working, but the Dragon armour was better than ever.

Mongul wasn't actually burned, but he did back off. However that just gave the immortal a chance to shoot the yellow-skinned alien with fission blaster.

Again this didn't do much more than slow the bad guy down, but it did give Supergirl time to catch her breath and soon she was punching and kicking Mongul so hard that he went through another wall.

That was when the Welsh Dragon attacked again. More energy bolts struck the villain, and while they were less than bee stings they still hurt Mongul just a little. But what really did the harm was that Kara was also using her heat vision. Even Mongul couldn't dismiss that sort of attack.

Being a veteran warrior Wonder Woman knew when team work was needed. She grabbed another exotic weapon and fired into the hole in the wall. That was when Mongul screamed out in pain.

Still it wasn't enough. The yellow skinned monster (you couldn't someone like him a man) came charging out of the whole while roaring in rage.

He slapped the Welsh Dragon aside so hard that the immortal bounced off a wall and then landed, crushing a display case with his weight. Supergirl tried to keep fighting but she was no match for Mongul as they wrestled. The Princess couldn't get a clear shot either not until after Kara was driven into the ground, by then it was too late.

"First I'll kill you and then your little armoured friend over there. The blonde I'll have some fun with. After that I'll take this whole planet" the bad guy gloated as he once more tried to strangle her with both of his hands.

"You…won't…win" Diana sputtered out as she attempted to pry his hands away from her neck.

"Of course I will." Mongul retorted in a very sinister tone.

He then grabbed her by the head with one hand and lifted her up before slamming her down into the ground like he had done with Supergirl. Mongul then raised his foot and slammed it into her ribs, causing her to scream out in intense pain.

She might have died then and there, if Dragon hadn't somehow gotten back up again. His attacks were feeble, as the armour he wore was damaged, but it did distract the bad guy long enough for Kara to blast the yellow skinned alien with her heat vision.

"Don't any of you people ever just die!" shouted out Mongul.

"I can't die!" called out Gothic as he opened fire once more.

(Line Break)

Clark's facial expressions began to change as he began to fight the plant's telepathic control. While this was happening, Batman was pulling on the Black Mercy as hard as he could, trying to detach it from his friend's body.

Bruce knew what would happen if the plant came off, but he could deal with that if meant the world could have Superman back.

"Fight it Clark…fight it" the Dark Knight said as he used all this strength to try and remove the plant.

That was when Gothic came flying into the room, but not by choice, and he slammed into the two other heroes. The Black Mercy did not like that, and it tried to neutralise what it thought to be an attacker. Which in turn led to the Welsh Dragon trying to fight the plant creature.

The Caped Crusader tried to help, but he'd been hurt by the impact. However he didn't need to give aid as the plant latched on to Gothic, and then went from trying to get closer to the immortal to trying to get away.

Even wounded the Dark Knight's mind was as keen as ever and he soon realised what was happening.

Gothic had powerful mental shields that no telepath in the League could penetrate or bypass. Even Ace a meta-human with a mind so powerful that she could drive millions insane over their television screens couldn't defeat those shields. This meant that the Black Mercy had no way of subduing the immortal. On some level the alien life form knew his as well and was trying to get away.

(Line Break)

As Princess Diana lay there on the ground struggling to bring her breathing under control. Supergirl was currently doing her best to defeat Mongul.

Knowing that she didn't have the raw power of her cousin, at least not yet, she'd grabbed a Thanagrin weapon she'd borrowed from her boyfriend. She'd been planning to see if she could improve on the weapon as it was rather awkward for him to use, but she had much greater strength and speed so the weapon was much easier for her to fight with.

Mongul caught the powerful axe with his bar hands but was surprised to feel the brute strength pushing the powerful weapon down onto him.

He would of expected such great strength if he was fighting Superman, but he had no expected this girl to be able to achieve a level of might that wasn't that far behind the Man of Steels.

Also he didn't expect that the axe was some sort of energy weapon. Something like electricity danced across the surface of the metal, and that really hurt the yellow skinned despot.

"ARGH!"

Mongul howled in pain again as another blow sent him reeling into the far wall. Clearly Kara was not holding back now, and it was a clear that she got very upset when bad people threw her boyfriend through a wall. Which was perfectly understandable.

However this still didn't prove to be enough, as while the alien despot did look as if he'd been badly hurt by the axe, he wasn't out of the fight yet.

"If that was your best effort," Mongul began to say as he cracked his neck, "then I guess I'll be having my fun sooner than I thought".

Kara would be spared finding out what that meant that meant as her cousin was now back in action. In a blur the Man of Steel rammed into the being that had ruined his birthday, and made sure that Mongul would lay a hand upon Supergirl.

Crashing into the ground hard, Mongul bounced for bit until he finally found his footing. But before the former dictator could do anything else he got a fist in the face courtesy of Superman

The Last Son of Krypton kept up the attack. He punched Mongul in the face again and again, over and over, until the yellow skinned had his back up against a wall.

"Do you have any idea what you did to me?" Superman shouted.

Clark didn't wait for an answer. Rather he grabbed Mongul by the scruff of his suit and lifted him up before punching him once more. Then the world-famous Man of Steel slammed his foe into the wall so hard that the whole fortress shook.

Superman then pulled his foe off the wall and punched him once more before sending him flying across the floor with a powerful right hook.

Then the tide of the battle changed as Mongul managed to finally throw a punch of his own.

"I fashioned a prison that you couldn't leave without sacrificing your hearts' desire." the evil being gloated.

Mongul kicked the prone Superman, which drove the Last Son of Krypton to his knees.

"It must have been like tearing off your own arm." Mongul stated as he grabbed Superman by the head and lifted him up.

After landing a few blows the bad guy stopped to talk some more.

"You should have stayed in whatever happy fantasy that the Black Mercy granted you."

Stopping had been a mistake as Clark used his heat vision to escape Mongul's grip.

"Happy?" Superman said with a snarl as he started to use his enemy as a punching bag. "Do you have any idea what I've lost?"

The most powerful man on the planet continued to pound away, causing rubble to fall to the ground.

"What I've—" Superman then looked up at the statue of his parents and hesitated, thinking back to the world that the Black Mercy had shown him for a brief second.

But it was all Mongul needed.

Grabbing him by the head, Mongul brought Superman down into a powerful knee smash which he rammed right into his gut. Clark felt physical agony, but while pain was nothing when compared to the emotional torment he'd just been through. The Man of Tomorrow could not bring himself to stand.

"You know, for a moment there…I almost believed you were gonna kill me." Mongul said as he picked up a huge boulder "How stupid of you to hesitate like that. Not a mistake I'll make, I can assure you".

The alien lifted the big lump of rock over his head, and would have crushed Clark with it if not for Kara. She flew in so fast that the evil alien never even saw her coming, and her blow was so powerful than it caused Mongul to spin and then crash to the ground.

Supergirl was however, far from done.

WHACK

"That was hurting Wonder Woman!" she said as he started to beat her enemy with her fists of fury

WHACK

"That is ruining the cake I made!"

WHACK

"That was for throwing my boyfriend through a wall"

WHACK

"That was for destroying what should have been a happy day!"

There was another big whack as Supergirl's foot proved that Mongul was in fact a male of whatever species he was.

"And that was for threatening to rape me"

Kara had figured out what Mongul had meant by fun, and she was clearly not happy about that, and despite how utterly savage the beating was Clark said nothing. He'd of done worse if he'd heard the yellow skinned monster threaten his cousin with that.

"Excuse me, sweetie could you move out of the way".

Since he couldn't get up Mongul was looking right up at the hole in the ceiling, What he saw clued him in to what was about to happen, and had he any strength left he would have tried to run.

Standing by the hole was that primitive human in the fancy armour, and in his surprisingly strong hands was the Black Mercy. The telepathic plant almost seemed to be afraid of the man. Mongul had no idea why, but he guessed it wasn't a good thing.

"I know it's very rude to return a birthday gift, but this pet really isn't housebroken. I hope you kept the receipt"

With that the man in power armour hurled the Black Mercy at Mongul who found himself unable to move out of the way due to the injuries. The Black Mercy soon attached itself to Mongul, and it then once again began the process of siphoning off nutrients from its new host, while giving them a pleasant dream world to live in.

(Line Break)

"This sucks" Kara complained as she started to free me from the mess that my power armour had become "I just upgraded this thing, and you broke it again. Now I'm going to need to make some more improvements. You're such a caveman".

Actually I hadn't broken it at all. The bad guys kept doing the damage, but by female logic it was still my fault.

"Sorry, sweetie" I apologised.

To be fair she had put a lot of effort into this armour.

"And that line was awful" she then said "you're normally a lot funnier".

"Well I was trying to hold onto a telepathic plant monster" I pointed out.

"And I didn't get to eat that cake" she further complained.

"When we get back to Jump City I'll take you out for some pudding" I offered as I finally got out of the ruined power armour.

"Can we have ice cream too?" she asked in her cutest voice.

I would have thought she'd had enough given how much she'd gotten through when we were in Bludhaven, but I never got between a woman and comfort food. Even an immortal shouldn't risk his life that way.

"Sure"

That cheered her up.

Since we both wanted to leave we went over to were Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were standing in order to make our goodbyes. Floating above his open hand the Man of Steel studied the piece of alien metal that came from his home world.

The three veteran heroes then turned to me and Clark asked me where I had gotten that little bit of tech from. So I explained, and then told him that I'd thought he'd should have it.

"Thank you" said Superman "it's nice to have something to remind me of Krypton".

It was still floating gently over the palm of his hand when Kara and I were ready to leave. I wondered if he would ever find out what it was for.


	7. Chapter 7

**tylermech66 **

I was employing some foreshadowing, but I won't say more as I don't want to build it up too much. That can led to disappointment, like my birthday.

**DarkAvenger001**

Well it does give Superman some character development. He's normally a rather bland character even when he's being emotional, but he's very human in that episode despite the fact that his dream world is an alien planet. I think that's why works.

Also it kinda bugged me that Supergirl wasn't in that one. You'd think she would be even if she isn't actually his cousin in that version. Maybe they couldn't get the woman who supplied her voice.

I'll pass on the recommendations. I'm appreciate the thought, but I'm still weeks behind on Supernatural and I've not even started on season five of Justice League and I need to watch that to plan this story.

Joe Lawyer Given the way his powers work it's actually a good thing he gets over matched because it pushes him into trying to get better. The really powerful characters are lazy about such things. That said there would be ways to greatly enhance his magic. He could feed souls to his patron god for example, he could try enchanting his own body (which could go very wrong) or he could try to manipulate Supergirl into technology humans aren't ready for. However I don't want to do that. He's an immortal who can evolve give him a thousand years and, well I won't ruin the surprise, anyway he can't control most of his super powers. His mental shields are maxed out, and all the improvements to his mind and body happen when he needs them to. Yes he can improve on skills and magic, which is what he is doing but power always comes at a price. Granted for him it's mostly time, but as you may of noticed he's a busy guy.

As for the fighting I guess its done for the dramatic effect more than anything else. DC Gothic likes to hit people on the head with sticks so he can't really judge.

I'll reply to the stuff about killing in the next chapter as I'm already at five thousand words for this chapter, and I'm putting the second chapter up just after this one.

Author Note

The following two chapters are focused on character development (assuming I'm using that phrase right) they are all about the crazy and sometimes creepy people who Gothic lives with, and how they all grow closer. This being Gothic's life it gets 'interesting' at parts and deals with themes that are adult in nature.

After the Halloween chapter there will be more action and drama as Cadmus makes its next move against Gothic and his girls.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Training And Planning**

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

Kara felt her arm shake under the force of the blow, there had been a lot of power behind the sword strike that she had just blocked. Normally she wouldn't even notice such things, but since the room they were training in was bathed in the red sun radiation she had no powers right now. It also meant that she was a lot more tired than she normal would be after such a hard work out.

"If your opponent is stronger than you, then you need to deflect the blow rather than try to block" her boyfriend gently scolded

"Yeah, but what are the chances running into someone stronger than me who uses a sword?" Kara pointed out "I mean sure your stronger than me now, but give me some sunlight and you'd be in for a world of pain, buddy".

Not that she would hurt her boyfriend, she was just trying to remind him that she was not human. He forgot that sometimes, she didn't blame him. She did look like a human girl after all, and she tried to act like one if only to blend in better.

"Yeah but I don't lose my powers because of radioactive space rock and special light bulbs " her lover said cheerfully as he artfully knocked the practice sword out of he hand.

Those 'special light bulbs' hadn't been easy to get. Installing them and then adding the yellow sun bulbs had taken longer than she'd expected. Still it was worth it as exercising without her powers should help her wear herself out. There wasn't much point training if you didn't push yourself.

"How is any of this supposed to make me a better fighter?" Kara demanded to know as she picked up the sword "I want to know how you beat people stronger than you are".

This desire was a new one, but given what had happened with Mongul the other day she had decided to try to prepare for such fights in the future.

"I trying to do just that" the man from another world replied.

Gothic then went on the attack and Kara used the training she gotten from the Amazons to deflect his blows. His sword was wooden like hers, so even it struck it would break her skin but she could get some bruises if a blow ever stuck her. Not that it looked like it ever would as the immortal kept striking her sword, the worst he'd done is wrap her on the knuckles.

By now she was sick and tired of being constantly on the defensive, so Kara went on the attacking, knowing that she couldn't truly injure her partner. Her attack was caught by his own blade easily and he pushed back hard enough to break her balance again. She didn't fall over as she was used to moving about with her power. Wearing the blue kryptonite ring had taught Kara to not be so clumsy when she wasn't invulnerable.

"It isn't a crowbar, so don't swing it at me".

Kara knew how to handle a sword, and she wasn't too bad with an axe either. The real problem was that this was just so frustrating. She was so use to being superior, that it was driving her nuts to be defeated in combat by a guy she considered a caveman. Granted he was her sexy cavemen, and this wasn't exactly public, but still it was humiliating. It was meant to be humbling she understood that as her intelligence wasn't being effected, yet she couldn't seem to bring her feelings under control.

"Okay I'm switching to yellow sun" she declared as she switched off the red lamps and turned on artificial sunlight "give me a few seconds and then you can show me how you beat someone stronger than you".

While they waited for the phony sunlight to recharge her, Gothic tried to explain why he was able to beat the likes of Bane, who was stronger and more experienced at fighting than the immortal.

"I beat Bane by exploiting his weaknesses" the immortal explained

"But how?" Supergirl questioned "and I don't mean 'tell me what his weaknesses are' I mean 'tell me how you figured them out'".

Kara nearly bit her tongue after she heard those words pour out of her mouth. She hadn't treating Gothic like he was some idiot who needed everything spelled out for him.

"I study my enemies" the rocker from another Earth answered "for example you're vulnerable to magic, so I'd use spells and magic weapons if I had to fight you. If I was fighting say... Mr Freeze I'd disarm him and then try to break his suit or I'd use my fire magic to overheat him".

That made sense. She'd seen Gothic exploit a weakness in a foe. That was why he had so many toys. Another good example was when he fought something supernatural he used his Nth metal sword.

"That invulnerability of yours isn't absolute. You found that out the hard way" the immortal added "any defence can be broken or bypassed".

"Not yours" Kara countered "you can't be killed".

"That's not a perfect defence" argued Gothic "I can be contained, and there are things that can kill even an immortal".

"But what about your mental shields" she pointed out "even Ace can't break them or get around them. Your mind can't be messed with".

Gothic frowned and then said.

"That's not true. Raven used a memory spell on me, and it worked".

Knowing her lover as well as she did she knew that he didn't want to talk about that, so Kara redirected the conversation.

"What about Galatea?" she asked "I can't use magic to fight her and kryptonite hurts me just as much as her"

Gothic mused on the problem for a while.

"I could make you a magic weapon, she could take it from you but it might be worth the risk. I can't make anything too deadly, you don't want to kill her so maybe something like... no you'd need to touch it too... might work if you wore your gloves. I could enchant some knuckle dusters I guess that would help a bit... most of what I could come up with would be as dangerous to you as to her".

Kara Zor'El agreed with that so she decided to try and look at the problem in a different way.

"Okay so it not enough to exploit her weaknesses. I also need to find ways to protect myself from things that can hurt me as well" Kara reasoned.

It sounded simple when said out loud, but it reality it was more complex as there was no suit of power armour she could make for herself. At least not with the tech she had to work with.

"Yeah I mean your cousin has a lead suit, he found a way to counter a weakness. It's not perfect, but it does show that he recognised a limitation and then came up with a way to overcome it".

The problem with was that Kara had no idea when her evil clone would turn up again, which made using kryptonite as a weapon rather problematic. Still at least it was something to consider.

"Which is exactly why I use gadgets and magic sometimes" Gothic added "rather than just hit things with sticks the time".

Kara often thought that really he did hit things with sticks a lot of the time. Maybe a little too much, but he was really good at it, and it was kinda hot sometimes.

"Using weapons wouldn't go with your Supergirl image, but there is one thing I can think that might help" her boyfriend said "not with your evil clone, but it could come in handy".

"Really" asked Kara, actually surprised that Gothic had come up with something so quickly.

"Magic can hurt you, but if you had bracelets like the ones Wonder Women used, only made of Nth metal then you might be able to block or at least weaken certain kinds of spells or even a magical weapon".

Kara felt embarrassed. She should have been able to think of something like that. Nth metal was rare, but there was some in the workshop because Slade Wilson had gotten his hands on some cuffs made of the stuff. She'd have to talk to Shayera Hol about reshaping the metal. Once she had that information the rest would be easy. Nth metal was tough stuff and could withstand the sheer amount of stress fighting super being like her would put a piece of body armour through.

"See that's what I don't get" Kara started to confess "I can beat you at chess. I can read an entire book before you finish page one. I can solve maths equations you don't have a hope of understanding nevermind solving, but you can come up with brilliant ideas without even trying. You got that one without even thinking that much".

Sure he had struggled a bit with ideas for beating Galatea, but she'd not thought of anything much either. Then he'd come up with a clever idea with next to no effort.

"I have a lot more limitations than you do" Gothic explained "that means I must have ideas like that. Necessity is the mother of invention after all".

"Yeah I guess we do think very differently" she said with a sigh.

It was times like this that Kara felt very much like an alien. Humans could be so like, and yet so different in many ways. Her cousin had grown up on this planet, but she hadn't and sometimes she felt very alone due to how different things were here from how they had been while she'd been growing up.

"But that can be a good thing" her boyfriend reasoned "you're a genius when it comes to science, but you have no understanding of magic were as I do. So I can help protect you from that, while you use your knowledge to help me like you did by making me the dragon armour".

On the other hand sometimes he knew exactly what she needed to hear. And now and again they did think very similar thoughts. Mostly that involved sex, and having other kinds of fun but that was enough for her. At least until she got him better trained. Plus he was male so it was to be expected that he wouldn't see a lot of things the same way way as her.

That made her smile when she realised that she did have a way to defeat Gothic even without her powers.

"You know I just realised how to beat you if we are a planet with a red sun" she told her lover "I'd just take my top off".

Her boyfriend smiled and then said.

"Yeah that work. Your boobs and butt are my real weakness".

Knowing that he was distracted by naughty thoughts Kara attacked Gothic intending to knock his sword out of his hand, she held back at a lot so that she wouldn't break his hand. However she need not of bothered as the blow never connected. Worse he struck her right on her ass, and it hurt.

"You used magic" Kara accused.

Gothic had muttered something back when she'd been switching the light to simulated yellow sun. She hadn't been paying enough attention but now she knew that he'd been casting a spell.

"Hell yeah. I told you I cheat, and you got cocky".

_'So much for being a goddess' _Kara thought before deciding that she needed to distract him some more.

"If you wanted to spank me so badly you should have just asked" she teased while giving him her best sexy look.

That always worked, and she just loved it when she could make him grin like an idiot with just a facial expression.

"See now you're exploiting a weakness" Gothic praised "Cheat, cheat and then cheat some more".

That was when she took off her top, she kept the bra on, but it was more than distracting enough to her knock the sword out of his hand.

(Line Break)

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

"So handsome, what do you have planned for today?" Blackfire asked she entered the kitchen.

I was sitting at the rooms small table, I'd covered most of it in case files. This was part of my training. Each file covered a crime that a member of the Justice League had solved in the past while a separate file held details on a criminal. My task was not only to match the file to the correct crook, using their histories to deduce who was mostly likely behind the fool deed, but I also had to try to figure out which hero had solved the crime. That part was trickier, but figuring it out was just worth some bonus points.

"Busy day ahead" I said to the alien princess Komand'r "I've got some case files to match up, then I'm taking a driving lesson in a Javelin, and tonight I'm monitor duty with Kara".

"No that's tomorrow night" my room-mate corrected "I swapped with Kara because I want to go to the Halloween party tomorrow, and she doesn't want to. So that means she's supervising you".

"So what is the women you fuck so much doing today?" Blackfire then asked.

Had I been my old self I might have growled upon hearing that, but I just couldn't get mad at people these days. Which was good in some ways as it meant Trigon's spirit had no influence over me, or at least that was I assumed that was how it worked. There were no voices in my head, which was a good sign at least.

"I think you meant to say 'the women you love so much'" I corrected.

"With you two what's the difference" replied the exiled princess, with a just a hint of jealously "and that doesn't answer the question".

At least Blackfire hadn't gotten into a fight with Kara because she wanted me as well. I like Fire well enough, she was a fun room-mate, but Kara wouldn't heartbroken if I tried to get another girlfriend. It had taken months for her and Raven to get to the point were they could share a bed with me, and that only been after they'd nearly killed each other.

"She's working on something up at the fortress" I said.

I had no idea what, but given what we'd talked about in the earlier hours of this very morning she was no doubt coming up with something to help give us both a better chance of winning some of our future battles.

"There you are." Blackfire remarked as Ace entered the room. "I was wondering when you'd get up".

While Komand'r tended wear in that sexy black number of hers Ace was dressing more modestly. In fact she was dressing a little like me, only she tended to wear a hoodie rather than a long coat. She tended to keep the hood up a lot, and it was starting to make me miss Raven again.

"Morning" the telepathic meta-human said to the two of us in a very bland tone of voice.

Yeah defiantly doing a Raven impression. She'd be drinking herbal tea and writing emo poems before the week was out.

"Morning sunshine" I said the telepathic teen.

How she reacted to that greeting I didn't know as I'd just sussed out who had robbed a collector of all his movie memorabilia. Had to be Control Freak, the big clue being that the idiot had confessed the crime on the internet while posting about the plot holes in a TV show.

"That one was done by the Royal Flush Gang" Ace informed me while pointing to a file that covered the hijacking of a helicopter.

"How do you know that?" I inquired.

"I was there" she answered.

Oh well that explained it. The copter was likely the one Harley Quinn had been flying around in during the time Joker had been in Las Vegas.

Also I concluded that Batman had solved the crime because Quinn was his enemy, and because the report was incredible well detailed as well as incredible dull. Bruce Wayne would not make a good fan fiction writer.

"You do seem to have a lot of bad girls interested in you, don't you handsome" Blackfire then commented "Ace, me, Raven is a bit evil too".

Those were just the ones she knew about.

"I think Kara is the exception to the rule" I muttered.

Then I started thinking about all the other ways Kara was different from any woman I'd ever met.

"He's in love" Blackfire said in a goofy voice "He's in love!"

Apparently I'd been thinking about it so much that I'd started to stare into space because I hadn't noticed time was still passing until Fire brought me back to reality by being silly.

Ace didn't seem to be amused as she slammed a cupboard shut with the power of her mind. Then after getting herself a bowl of cereal, thankfully without using telekinesis, Ace then cleared some space at the table and then sat down opposite me. She gave me the not creepy look only I seemed to be worthy of getting most of the time, and then started examining one of my notebooks.

I'd filled many pages with plans, plot, ideas and sometimes drawings of things I could possible make. Having my own version of the Batplane would be cool, but it was very impractical what with not having anywhere to hide it or anyway to build one. Some of the stuff was more doable. But I'd either have to get some help or 'cheat' using magic.

Then for some reason Ace decided to spit an entire mouthful of corn flakes across the table. Blackfire must have seen it coming as she'd moved away from the table at the last second.

"Ace!" I called out in astonishment rather than anger.

"Sorry, but there's something wrong with this milk, it's all bitter" she said in an apologetic tone of voice.

Oh crap. She used the wrong milk. I should have seen that coming.

"Did you get it from the plastic bottle that's labelled 'Gothic Only'?" I questioned.

"Yeah" the telepathic meta-human replied timidly "but I didn't think you'd care".

"I'm not mad, it's just the milk thing is something private" I told the teen as I cleaned up the mess.

Ace accepted that but the other girl in the room did not. I failed to spot Blackfire going for the milk bottle in the fridge until it was too late.

"She's right it tastes horrible" the alien princess in exile agreed "it's like someone left a diet soda out for too long, and it's really bitter".

So neither Ace or Blackfire considered Kara to be a suitable mother for their offspring. Not that this was surprising given that they were both women, but for some reason it became funny.

"Where did you buy this stuff?" inquired Komand'r before suggesting "you should take it back and complain".

Apparently she'd forgotten that spoiled milk is sour and not bitter.

"Oh I could never do that" I told her "I'm not brave enough".

I was pretty sure that my girlfriend's sweater puppies had super powers of their own. One of which had to be that I kept wanting to stare at them whenever she got topless or naked. There was no way I was going to risk her keeping them covered up all the time because she felt offended. Plus their other power was an addictive substance, so over all it would be a really stupid idea to complain.

"Brave?" questioned Blackfire "who can scare you?"

A few people actually, but mostly they were sort of my allies so they didn't worry me... much.

"I know we don't scare him" Ace informed "but that's it".

"Wait so you know how he does feel about me" Blackfire reasoned "does he think I'm sexy".

To make it more awkward my royal room-mate decided to start rubbing my shoulders.

"Err" was all I said on the matter.

"A little" Ace answered "but he mostly feels that your fun to be around".

Which was the truth. She was a fun girl.

"But he doesn't love me" said the princess.

"No" confirmed the empathic girl "but he really loves Kara. If I could read his minds I bet I'd be seeing her breasts everywhere".

To be fair they had been on mind a lot this morning.

"Super-boobs" Ace muttered darkly.

Yep that was a great Raven impression. She just needed to dye her hair purple, and it would as if my other girlfriend had never left.

"They are really big" agreed Blackfire "I can understand why they would be intimating".

Not that she was so well endowed, but Fire was at least fully grown, and she was a bit sexy. Even her orange skin gave her an exotic quality rather than simply make her look strange.

"Does it bother you that much?" I asked Ace "I mean you're a cutie".

Well she was when she wasn't giving people the creepy eye treatment. Which rarely happened around me, as she could sense my feelings without even having to make eye contact.

"You think I'm your little sister"

She didn't need to read any minds to know that.

"Tell you what get back to me in about four or five years and I'll add you to the harem" I joked.

"You better" was the reply.

I just knew what she was going to hold me to that. Kara would not be happy. Of course I might still be married to Tali al Ghul by then so she wouldn't be happy either. Oh well I'd just have to cross that burning bridge when I got to it.

"I use to have a harem" said Blackfire with a slight sigh "they were so good at the foot rubbing".

That caught me off guard, but she had been queen of a whole world so it kinda made sense.

"I bet they were all strapping young men with six-packs and tight jeans " I said with a smirk.

That would be so like her. I'd seen the posters she had up in her room. If her taste in pop stars and other celebrities was anything like her tastes for the males of her own species it would all make sense. Assuming they had jeans on her world. Then again she'd been to Earth before becoming Grand Ruler so she would have known where to get some.

"No they all wore a kind of synthetic leather, but I made the women wear silk" she told me in a whisper"it's easier to take off".

I had not known that she was bisexual. That was interesting. Also fun to think about, but for too long as I didn't want Ace to sense anything.

"They use to wash and then rub my feet, I so enjoyed that" Komand'r added.

Given that she had gone back to making my shoulders feel so good I couldn't comment. Although I did wonder if massages were sexual things on Tamaran. They didn't considering to be intimate, but given I could be using that Blackfire's chest as pillows at this point it could be.

"You can pay people to do that you know" I told the alien princess "give you a foot rub I mean".

"Pay people to rub my feet!" Blackfire said in a way that sounded as if the whole idea was positively scandalous "that's legal on this planet!".

So it seemed that at least foot rubbing was sexual to her world. Although it could be here if you had that kind of fetish, so again I wouldn't judge.

"Well it is in some parts" I informed "they have professionals and places for it's not considered sexual here".

"Really" replied Komand'r as she pushed her fun bags into the back of my head "so you could do it. I don't have any money, but I'm sure I could do something for you in return".

By now alarm bells were going off in my head, and as much as I knew I should stop this. I was also enjoying all the attention. Which made me a really bad person. Being empathic Ace knew this and had decided to make it worse. Clearly she did not want to by my little sister figure, at least not all the time.

"I'd love a back rub" she said while trying to look seductive.

Now I really needed a way out. Ace knew how to use the little sister thing to her advantage. It was only a matter of time before she started telling about how harsh her life had been, then I'd want to spoil her like rotten.

"I'm rich" I reminded, thinking that money could solve this problem "I can send you to a really fancy spa"

Hurray! Cheque book to the rescue!

"But you said it wasn't about sex" reminded Blackfire "if that's true then you should be able to run your hands all over my naked body".

Sometimes it paid to be smart, and this was one of those times. I could think my way out of this grave I was partly digging for myself.

"I'm not a professional" I pointed out "I wouldn't know what I was doing".

A weak defence, but it might work.

"Yeah, but you learn things real fast" Ace said unhelpfully "you could get a book and then practice on us. You're always trying to gain new skills, so why not this one. I bet Super-boobs would be really happy if you could give her a really good all over body rub...with oils... and fluffy towels".

Wait how did she know that Kara loved fluffy towels? Had they been in her wardrobe?

"Did you two plan this?" I asked "It sounds like you did".

They didn't normally gang up on me likes this, and they did seem to be working together really well.

"No I'm feeding her lines" confessed Blackfire "she can read my mind".

Which meant they could talk to each other without actually speaking since Ace could send thoughts to people as well. It also meant that I was going to have to put my foot down unless my last idea worked.

"I don't think Kara would like me touching naked girls who aren't her".

Neither of them were insane enough to piss off Supergirl.

"She might, so I'll ask her" decided Komand'r "if she says yes then will you do it?".

"Please" added Ace as she made herself look all harmless and adorable "I've never had a massage, no has ever been nice enough to me do something like that. No one's ever cared about me like you do".

Damn it! She'd unleashed her most potent weapon against me the 'I'm an abused little girl who needs to be shown affection' attack. It couldn't fail, not when combined with the harmless and adorable look.

Then I smiled as I realised that Kara would never say yes. So it was perfectly safe to go along with their evil plan. They wouldn't blame me, and I'd find a far more harmless way to spoil them both.

"Sure if she says yes I'll do it. In fact I'll even provide soft music, scented candles, champagne and chocolates. The whole nine yards".

Nothing could go wrong with this plan.


	8. Chapter 8

****Reviews****

****The unknown23 ****

I have none planned but if you pitch an idea at me I might be able to use it.

****Joe Lawyer ****

Well I did say he wasn't that bad, but he did get close. He let a team-mate die when he was Dark Angel. If Gothic teamed up with a super villain in this story he wouldn't do that, and would never kill for money in this story either. But he does go that far later, and that sort of thing is a slippery slope. That's why Raven so mad about Dark Angel fighting Batman while on the side of the villains. Granted DA was protecting his team mates, but they were all killers not fellow heroes, and Batman is for all his faults a good guy and the world would have been a lot worse off without had Dark Angel killed him. Ace actually informed him of that.

The heroes in the league don't have the backing of legitimate government a soldier does. In the DC Verse the police really don't seem to like people who aren't government employees kill the bad guys. Look what happened when that Superman clone killed Toyman.

Granted the clone was crazy, but he was actually trying to do the right thing he only killed the crook when he escaped custody and murdered that little girl. Okay so the clone pretty much executed the guy, which is not the same thing as killing someone in a fight but given the way people reacted you can see how it can make the hero into the villain. Also if the good guys actually solved all those problems they'd be out of job and then there would no more adventures for us to read or watch. That's the real reason.

Gothic does get approval from the government when he works for Amanda Waller. That's why no one in the League tries to shut him down, but in the end it wasn't what he wanted from his life. In Dark Knight Returns fricking Superman had become a tool of the president because he wanted to do things legitimately. In the DC verse that's how it works. The authorities would control all the meta-humans if they could, and then wouldn't be heroes any more.

Maybe you don't agree and even I don't think it would really be that simple if it happened here, but that's how it is in the DC verses and that is where this story is set.

I have to stay true to some of the themes of the story. I like changing things, and it can be fun but if I made DC Gothic to powerful or put him outside the 'rules' as it were then this story would soon end as he'd win too much and would soon have nothing left to do.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Bonding**

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

"I can't tell if I've become the luckiest bastard who ever lived or not" I said while thinking out loud. "I have three sexy women in my bedroom, but on the other I'm not allowed to enjoy it too much".

It was a confusing situation. Kara, Komand'r and Ace were pretty much naked, aside from a small towel that covered their rear bumpers, and I was going to get to massage their bodies. However Ace didn't turn me on. Blackfire did a bit, but that would just make it worse in some ways.

Then there was Kara to consider I found it a struggle not to try to ravish her right now. She wouldn't want to have sex in front of other people, but she might be very tempted to kick them out of the room. Which made a tempting escape plan, but that would really upset the other two.

"Just relax sweetie" my girlfriend said rested her head on a pillow "we'd be offended if you didn't find this really sexy, it's meant to be fun and if you get me really relaxed. Then I'm going to let you do to me what you did to Raven just before she left".

Now there was an intensive if ever I heard one, also it was a little shocking to find out that she knew about that. It was supposed to have been a very private thing. Not that it stopped me from getting aroused by the prospect, which made very glad the girls had only wanted me to take my t-shirt off.

"Let him do what?" Ace asked she stared at the lights given off by one of the scented candles.

That question made Blackfire giggle, as she had clearly figured out what it was I was being offered. She didn't have to explain it as Komand'r didn't have mental defences, at least not ones that mattered to Ace, so the telepathic meta-human simply read her friend's thoughts.

"Won't that hurt?" was the telepaths next question.

"I guess so" Kara answered "I've not done it before it's a little scary, which is why I need to be really relaxed first".

"Or drunk" Blackfire added "we have really good drinks on Tamaran, you can get really wasted if you've got enough worms".

I couldn't see Ace's face, but given that she just finished a very small glass of champagne it wasn't hard to guess that she'd be a little freaked out upon hearing that".

"They don't put worms in drinks here" Blackfire assured.

"Actually they do in Tequila" I informed the telepath "but not in champagne I promise".

"Actually you're wrong they only do that with mezcal and really the "worm" is the larva of a moth" Kara corrected, before changing the subject "Are you going to start with Ace? Cause it's already eight thirty and she has a bed time".

"No I don't" protested Ace "not unless he says I have to".

Given that there was only one 'he' in the room. It was clear she meant me. Also I had to wonder why it was my decision.

"Don't play Mummy verses Daddy" chided Blackfire "it never works as well you think".

Deciding that I didn't want to get involved in that debate I sat down on the end of the bed and started rubbing Ace's feet which made her giggle, and that stopped her from arguing. Sadly I only had one pair of hands, and this clued me into why my most humanoids only one have sexual partner at a time. This is because you can't massage two women, and do it right with only a single pair of hands.

"I am really the Mum?" Kara asked.

If she was asking me I didn't know as I was facing the wrong way.

"I think so" said Blackfire "I mean Ace is the baby. I'm her cool big sister, or maybe a really young aunt, and your so the Mum. You take care of everyone, you cook, you clean, you even wash our clothes. You even fu... share a bed with the Dad".

That made me frown because I'd not realised that Kara did that so much. I couldn't recall when I'd stopped washing my own clothes. When I did figure it out I realised that she'd started before we'd become an item. She did it all so well that I'd never noticed. Although it made sense as Raven had always been useless at the domestic stuff. Her meatloaf had turned out to be a crude explosive in the end, as for cleaning well she used magic for that. In fact if I could remember me cleaning Raven's clothes a few times, and she'd never noticed that as far as I was aware, but we both wore dark colours so I'd always washed both loads of laundry together.

"Yeah but I have super speed" Kara pointed out "it doesn't take me long to do stuff. I mean the cooking you can't rush, but I enjoy taking care of Goth... oh I am so the Mum!".

Now that she'd admitted it I had to agree, but I was going to keep my mouth shut and ignore it. Frankly I'd enough of that whole my lover is a lot a parent stuff from Raven thank you very much. I was just going to enjoy my time with my more devoted girlfriend as much as I could before things fell apart. Which given I was immortal was the only way I could handle relationships. Even if Kara didn't age like a human, she could die, and while I might not have to deal with that issue until the 31st century I'd still have to cope with her death. Unless she was immortal too, which would have its own issues.

"Oh that's so good" Ace said.

At some point I'd started on her legs and she was loving it. I'd even applied the oil. Which made me glad I'd covered the bed sheets in towels, because she'd chosen something a little sticky to get covered in. I wouldn't even try to guess what it was called, but whatever it was it smelled nice and fruity.

"How good?" asked Blackfire.

"Very" was the answer.

"The first time is always special" commented Kara.

Which reminded me that I wasn't her first, which was a little disappointing but on the upside if things when well I'd get to pop one cherry of hers.

"My life is very odd" I said out of the blue as I repositioned myself to better rub Ace's other leg.

Two faces turned to give me questioning looks, the youngest of the three had her face buried in a pillow so I doubted that she'd even heard me say anything.

"I was just having deep thoughts" I explained "about my life".

"And they say men can't multi-task" Kara said with a smile.

Sometimes I did find myself thinking about things while also doing something that had nothing to do with my thoughts.

"I'm offend that he can think at all" stated Komand'r "I'm practically naked here!"

"He can't see your ass or breasts" Kara explained "he doesn't care about the other parts... well he cares about one other part".

Oddly it didn't sound much like she minded that I never paid her other parts much notice. Then again I was about to give them a lot of TLC.

"Don't show him or he'll start acting like a zombie" advised my girlfriend "then you'll have to wait even longer for your turn".

One of the very few things that was a little negative about having Kara as my girlfriend, was that she tended to put me down whenever other women looked as if they might take attention away from her. She did in the form of jokes, but I had to admit there were times that it had annoyed me. But even she wasn't perfect, she was however very close.

I then spent a few moments trying to kneel over Ace without putting any weight on her I was over twenty stone in weight, although I didn't look it.

Normally that wasn't a problem, but the telepathic teen was a tiny girl, so I had to be very careful if I wanted to do a decent job on her back.

"You missed her butt" pointed out Blackfire between sips of champagne.

I had been hoping that wouldn't be mentioned.

"There's a reason she's wearing a towel" I reminded "that's a little too much she's only fifteen".

I'd like to avoid the creepy pedo thing thank you very much.

"Maybe sixteen" Ace said after a little groan of pleasure "I don't know when my birthday is".

She at least didn't seem to care that I'd missed a spot. In fact she sounded extremely relaxed and happy.

"Make it today" advised Komand'r "it's Halloween tomorrow so you get two days of candy in a row, and a really good time with Gothic by the sounds of it. You can have this be something he does every year".

"Does that mean I can have more campaign?" the meta-human inquired "if it's my birthday I should".

"Yes you can" I said before Kara said no "just a little then add a lot of orange juice. It helps prevent a hangover".

The amount she'd already had been pitiful to be fair, and she had eaten enough chocolate to stop her from getting light-headed.

"Nice diversion" was all Kara actually said on the subject.

"All's fair in love and war, and you need good tactics in both" I replied.

Which would explain how my adaptive biology (which was supposed to make me a good survivor) did help me with the tricky parts of living with three women who seemed to be in love with me. Although it was a different kind of love for Kara, the other two had strong crushes, but for them it was no less real.

"What did you divert me from" Ace asked a little sleepily.

Clearly she had no tolerance for drink.

"He skipped your butt" Komand'r prompted.

Ace then started to get depressed.

"I've never even kissed a boy".

"If you wanna kiss a girl, I'll kiss you" offered Blackfire "but no tongue".

That sounded a bit strange but Komand'r's people didn't consider kissing to be intimate thing.

"I only want to kiss one person" she replied "and he won't".

"He's rubbing your body" said Kara, clearly getting fed up of the rising emo levels in the room "enjoy it sweetie"

"Oh for the love of..." I heard myself say before I put a firm hold on my emotions "I'll kiss you, if you promise to just try and relax. If this going to be your birthday then you have to learn to enjoy yourself".

Ace brighten up a lot after I planted a big kiss on her lips. It didn't last very long as I wasn't about to snog a sixteen (or possibly fifteen) year old, but I was very good at kissing, so it had the desired effect without being sexual.

After than I got to work on her shoulders. If she'd been able to Ace would have purred at that point.

"You're a nice guy" Kara commented

Not something you'd expect to hear from your girlfriend after you'd kisses another girl right in front of her.

"Marry me and give me babies" she then rather randomly added.

Or perhaps not that randomly. If she was that broody then it explained a lot actually. Still that was a little OOC for her to say stuff like that.

"Are you drunk?" I asked my other half.

Or was it 'other third' if you had two girlfriends?

"Little bit" she admitted.

Blackfire held up the empty bottle and then said.

"I've had half a glass. Ace had like two tiny glasses. She drank the rest and this is really strong stuff for your first drink".

Yeah perhaps it hadn't been the best choice. I'd really just wanted to spoil my girls, not get them sloshed.

"I never... drank any before" slurred Kara.

Ah that explained it. Blue kryptonite must reduce her immunity to poison. Alcohol was a mild poison, and she'd never had any so he no resistance that wasn't due to her powers. Plus even I'd be a bit tipsy after most of a bottle of champagne.

"She forgot the orange juice" a now much happier Ace added.

Indeed she had, and that was another good reason for drinking buck fizz. Champagne was expensive as well.

"Does this mean we can get naked?" asked the princess on the bed "I don't think she'll remember any of this".

"Yay!" Ace cheered before I went back to massaging her neck.

It was apparently very pleasant. The book I'd spent an hour going over once I'd gotten back from the Watchtower had been a very good one. In fact it was good that my smallest room mate forgot how to talk as well.

"Yeah two drunk girls and one of them is possibly sixteen. I really should not be allowed to have children" I said to myself.

"Shh!, don't tell Clark" was another somewhat random comment from the love of my life.

We all ignored. It wasn't as if I was ever going to tell Superman I got his teenage cousin drunk. I could see those red glowing eyes even now.

"You need to stop worrying so much" advised Blackfire "we all trust you, and we know you would take advantage. You'd be a good Dad because you really do care about people, and we all love you".

I'd never of thought that Fire would say something like that. She really did have a softer side.

"This went from being sexy and a little scary too..."

Well I wasn't sure what to call this. If it was a party then it was a very good one as it had resulted in me getting naked girls (more or less) on my bed and somebody had passed out without vomiting first. Which was always a plus in my books, as it meant I didn't have to clean any vomit up.

"It's still sexy" debated Blackfire "you get to touch my butt. Kara didn't say you couldn't. You're the one who decided that".

She advised against it, but not forbidden it and anyway I was suppose to be in charge it was my house.

"What about my... front?" inquired Ace "I want my... everything rubbed".

That wasn't going to happen. I was drawing a line in the sand. Feeling up a drunk teenage girl was sicko territory.

"You need to go to bed" I told her "you're a little drunk".

Thankfully she was not that drunk. She was just tipsy enough to be silly without getting so besotted that I needed to worried about. I was a bit of an expert at this having gotten sloshed rather a lot in my college days.

"Is it my bed time?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"Yes" I replied "Sleepy time for Ace".

"Carry me" she requested "I don't think I can walk".

I got up to do just that, then she rolled over which showed me everything. But rather than try not to look I just picked her up, took her to her room and tucked her into bed.

Then she muttered that she loved me so I gave a kiss on the cheek, and then tucked her in.

Yeah I was so the Dad and that made her crush very awkward sometimes, but I really did adore the little telepathic teen, so I decided to stop stressing about the whole thing. I wasn't the kind of person to take advantage of someone like her so there was no need to worry about this so much.

Then a few moments, or maybe a bit longer, watching her sleep. She looked so different now that she had a family of sorts, and it broke my heart to know that she had only a few years to live. Her own mind was going to kill her, and there wasn't anything I could do about other than make help make her remaining life worth living.

But that was what an immortal had to deal with. I would outlive them all if nothing killed me. I wouldn't age or get a tumour in my brain. I'd go on. I wasn't sure which of us was worse off.

When I got back into my room, Blackfire had taken off her towel and moved a bit so she had more space. Thankfully she was still lying on her back so I didn't end up getting another eye full and what I did see was rather nice. However I knew that this was a road to badness so I took Kara's ring off so her powers would be restored. Hopefully she would recover fast. If she didn't I was really, really going to need my mandatory therapy. There was only so much temptation I could resist and Blackfire knew my greatest weaknesses.

Thankfully she didn't she did have hypno breasts.. I assumed.

"One day she is going to get her wish" Komand'r warned "she will wear you down".

I actually agreed with that. It was easy to see her as a kid now, but give her a few years to physically and emotionally grow and she'd be able to completely wrap me around her finger. Assuming she lived that long.

"I know" I admitted "I just wish she'd wait a while. I want her to have a chance to just be a kid, but I'm gonna stop worrying so much about it".

That was the plan I was going to put my sad thoughts aside and focus on the task at hand. Ace's flashing aside this hadn't been that bad so far. Embarrassing yes, and a little silly but I could handle that. Would help if I could smoke but that would totally ruin the atmosphere.

"That's good, she needs you to see that she isn't a just little kid " replied Blackfire as I started on her feet "oh and that's even better"

Yeah she totally had sensitive feet. This was so a sex thing for her.

"And you wonder why so many girls like you" said a now awake Kara "you totally have some boyfriend sorcery. Did you like cast a spell on yourself or something".

Boyfriend sorcery. That was a good name for it. Once I had thought I did have actual magic effecting the women I met. But as it turned out it was something I was doing to myself. Well that and I seemed to met very strange women.

"That sort of thing was always more Raven's thing" I told the misses "my magic doesn't work that way".

Since I had no healing spells there was no reason for to ever use magic on an ally. There had been that one time, but those enchantments had been meant to harmlessly disable people I didn't want to maim or kill, not to mess with their personalities.

At least no spell I'd created with Old One magic did anything like that. Although enhancing myself with spells might be worth looking into. Could be dangerous, but I was immortal which reduced the risks, and I knew how to lift such enchantments.

"Can anyone do magic?" the naked princess asked as I switched to her other foot "I mean spells, not the magic your hands are doing".

"He's a magic cavemen" Kara said with a giggle "a witch-doctor"

"Warlock" I rectified "my magic comes from spirits. I call upon a god and what's left of a very powerful demon lord, for my power".

And now and again I'd tapped into Raven's soul self, which was the source of her power and also spiritual. But that was rather private, and it didn't work any more as it required us to be emotional and physically connected.

"My Pyrokinesis comes from what remains of Trigon" I further explained "and I might get more if I tapped into my rage, but that could led to him influencing me"

My mental shields might be helping with that, but they weren't completely magic proof as Raven had proved. Plus Trigon had been extremely powerful, if his spirit wasn't only a pitiful remnant he would of taken me over shields or not.

"So you make fire" mused Kara "and you can make it do what you want".

I could hold the flames I made in the palm of my hands which meant I might also be immune to fire and when I got mad, which was hard to do these days, I could hurl it about as well.

"Blow the candles out" I requested of my sexy partner.

A very gentle super breathe did just that. Then with a showy wave of my hand I made the candles light up again.

"Cool" remarked Komand'r "you should do that trick at parties".

Kara ignored that remark as she was thinking about something.

"But can you take it away?" my other half (or third if that made sense) "If you control fire then you could make it go away?".

I thought about that for a moment as I finished with Blackfire's feet.

"I don't know" I admitted.

"Okay try it with one of the candles" Kara instructed.

I focused on a single candle and looked at flame. Rage made fire so I used calmness to remove the flame. Then I did the rest, and lit them up for the third time this evening.

"Very cool" said an impressed Komand'r

It wasn't that impressive actually. My sexy girlfriend could have done the same thing using heat vision after using her cold breathe. I pointed this out but Kara did not agree.

"When I put out a house that's on fire, there's always a chance I could knock it down, like in that three little pigs story, but if you could take away the fire then that would be less risky. It could save a lot of lives".

That was a very good idea. Remove the fire rather try to put it out.

"And it makes the flaming skull on my biker jacket more appropriate" I added.

"Only if you were a villain" Kara disagreed as she started to open the second box of chocolates that I'd brought "and if you go evil you won't get to see me naked again".

The threat was enough to remove that temptation. At least for now.

"What else can you do" Blackfire then asked "aside from making my skin go all tingly with your magic hands".

"My Old One spells are a kind of chaos magic" I then said as I started rubbing up and down Blackfire's legs "in theory chaos magic has limits, if I can word a spell right I could even raise the dead or summon things more dangerous than those tentacle monsters".

Kara shuddered and then said.

"Please don't bring any of those tentacle monsters near me. I'm still traumatised from the last time".

I vaguely recalled her telling me about the time she'd nearly gotten completely tied up by tentacles that had come of some people's mouths. So unleashing a tentacle creature upon Mother May Eye, must have triggered some really bad memories.

Oddly Raven had found the whole thing a big turn on, although we had still both been drugged at the time, but then again she was a big fan of horror movies they got her juiced up. So that would have been like actually being in the film.

As for me I was just glad to the outfit she'd been wearing off her body. Raven in bright, happy colours was an abomination worse than anything I could ever summon.

"Well I couldn't think of anything else at the time" I told her "besides you know how I get when people hurt my friends".

"I do" replied Kara "it's one of the things I like most about you. Sometimes you can be really vicious, but it because you care so much".

That was reassuring to hear.

"I like his hands the most" Blackfire said with a sigh of pleasure.

Yeah I'd picked up on that.

"They are great" agreed my girlfriend "nice and strong".

Which the princess had to agree with because I was now rubbing the upper parts of her legs, which involved me looking at her butt quite a lot.

"She does have a cute ass" Kara said "but mine is sooo much sexier".

"Tis true" I admitted while looking at her even more sexy backside.

Fire then wiggled her bottom which got my attention.

"Don't you think mine is sexy, Gothic?" she said in a playful voice.

"No mine is better" argued my lover "isn't that right sweetie?"

"You're both very attractive women in your own special way, and I'm lucky to have you in my life".

That seemed safe enough even if I hadn't actually answered their questions.

"Awww, you're so sweet" said Blackfire

"I have you well-trained" remarked Kara between mouthfuls of candy.

She did it was true. But the rewards made it so worth while.

"I'm impressed by how well you've gotten him under your control" Blackfire praised "did it take you long?".

"Not really" Kara answered "I staked a claim to him ages ago. We went on a nice date, he took me to dinner and when I found who he was I decided that I just had to have him. Then we went out again, and I got him hooked on my breasts right from the start. I would of joined the Titans before he started dating Raven, but getting the new Watchtower needed a lot of work. Given with Green Lantern moving the pieces into orbit it still took weeks to get up it all up and running".

Well that at least partly explained how the new one had gotten built so quickly. And it also meant that I actually started seeing Kara first. No wonder Raven through her through a roof, she was an empath so she would of known why Kara had wanted to join the group.

That was when I realised I'd stopped what I was doing so I got back to work.

"All over body massage" reminded the naked princess as I moved to get to her back "that's what I want".

Kara only giggled, again. So I moved on to Blackfire's butt. Which was nice and firm, but I got my hands moving upwards before I got too distracted. I really did have a thing for spankable backsides.

"We so have to do this again" Fire recommended, once I got to her shoulders.

"Only if you behave" I joked.

"Oh I'll do anything you say" teased the naked princess "_anything_"

I could well believe that.

"He's mine" reminded Kara

"Can I borrow him?" pleaded the girl whose arms I was rubbing oil into "please".

"I'm a person not a pet" I protested.

I might be primitive compared to my partner, but she did acknowledge the fact that I was a sentient being.

"You'll have to fed him" the alien babe who wasn't orange said "and not let maul anybody".

Apparently I'd been wrong about then. Although that had most likely been a joke, or at least that was what I was hoping it was. In any case I considered it best to end this little chat here and now.

"Okay your done" I told Blackfire as I smacked her rear bumper.

"What about my front?" she inquired "I thought I was getting the whole body treatment".

"The book didn't cover those parts" I replied "now go to bed".

Which was true, it didn't mention anything I hadn't already made very relaxed.

"Oh, are you sending me to my room?" asked Blackfire in her most innocent voice "have I been a bad girl. Is that why Daddy smacked my ass?".

At times like this I'd figured that immortality wasn't my only curse. Someone had also cursed me to have an interesting life. Which explained he immortality curse, because the other one would of killed me a long time ago without it.

"No it's just your bedtime" I said in a grown up tone of voice "now off to bed with you young lady".

She didn't even attempt to cover herself, instead she told me that she loved me and then kissed me on the check.

"Now I have you all to myself" my girlfriend said happily as she put her radioactive space rock ring back on.

"This...feels...good..." Kara sighed out

By now I had started her a massage while she lied on the centre of the bed. After having three girls on it the bed seemed much larger than before. I'd not noticed how big it was really. If I ever got really board I could so build a pillow fort on it.

"I'm glad to hear that" I replied.

Truthfully I was. I really wanted to pound that ass. It was now my number one goal in life. I would not rest until the deed was done.

"Do you start on planning a massage parlour for super heroines?" Kara "or is this a free service for the girls who totally adore you?".

Now that had possibilities. Potential dangerous ones as I didn't think it would be a good idea. Most heroic women had gorgeous asses after all.

"The second one" I answered

"Oh good" a now very relaxed Kara said "because I'd like to book you for some time next week".

"I'll check the appointment book" I kidded.

Vanilla oil smelt really nice and for some reason the scent seemed to really suit my super hot girlfriend. I rubbed it everywhere, giving the task my total attention. She loved every second on it, and didn't say a word as I relaxed her entire body. Well nearly of all it, there were a couple of big things that also needed my attention.

Whenever I sucked on her nipples I could tell that she would try to maintain her composure, but it never lasted. She always ended up forgetting to speak English, and it also tended to result in my hair getting really messed up as for some reason she loved to run her hands through it whenever I got my favourite liquid refreshment.

I looked to see that Kara's eyes had half-rolled up into her head. This might not be sexual to her, at least not completely, but it was intense as she always seemed very grateful as well.

I imagined that had to do with me accepting this bit of alien weirdness, while also making us closer as a couple. So for her it was all good.

As for me. Well it meant I got Supergirl's breasts at my beck and call. There's really nothing more awesome than that. I had to be the luckiest bastard this world had ever known, and that was without counting all the things she did to support me. More than mad up for having to play by the idiotic rules of the Justice Jerks.

I decided then to express my gratitude with a little pussy licking. I kissed my way down her stomach, which she loved, and then did something I couldn't recall ever doing for her. Mostly that was because when she got this aroused she be pleading with me to just do her and to do it rough, but tonight was a little different.

Her cunt was just as great as the rest of her, she was totally shaven. Assuming she actually had body hair I'd never found any and to be honest I didn't want to look the gift horse in the mouth.

On the subject of mouths my face was soon buried itself in her slit. Once the surprise wore off she grabbed my head with both hands and urged to get my tongue deeper into her wet and warm whole.

Normally she asked nicely when she wanted to do something in bed, even if was something no sane straight man could say no too, and that might have been what was she was saying, but I had no idea what she going on about right now and even I had her thighs would have made it impossible for me to hear her clearly. She was now squeezing her thighs so hard it actually hurt for a second or two. If she'd been anywhere at full power my head would have been crushed.

The last thing I figured out was that I was getting really good at thinking about things while also doing something that should be holding my attention. I really had to stop thinking so much and try to enjoy myself more. So that was exactly what I did.

I ended up driving Kara into such a state that she had make me stop, she squirmed around so much that somehow she ended up half off the bed, and she couldn't fly with the ring on her finger, thus she was subject to gravity. Hitting the floor would really have ruined the mood.

"Where did you learn to that?" she asked once she'd remembered that I couldn't understand her native speech.

"College" was the answer I gave.

Which was the truth I'd been attending college at the time. Actually if I remembered right I should have been in class rather than getting oral sex tips from a horny student. Then again it had been a practical lesson and very educational.

"Are you sure there's no magic involved?" Kara as she got onto her hands and knees "cause that was really something special. You really need a big reward, so don't hold back. I want you enjoy yourself. Do my ass as hard as you want. But I want one more thing, just one tiny favour and I'll be the most grateful girlfriend ever".

What else could I do.

"Please run me a bath" she requested "I'd do it myself, but I really don't want to move and your so good at spoiling me".

Well that was no big deal. I even had bubble bath she liked. Because she'd brought it. Which was odd because it was my bathroom, but I also had the only tub so it wasn't that strange that she might want to use her girlfriend bathroom hogging privileges.

When I got back from doing that I'd found that Kara hadn't moved at all. She was still on all fours and had her ass high in the air.

I had no idea what she was going to about the lack of lubricant. Raven could of used magic for this sort of thing, but with Kara that wasn't an option and she hadn't planned this. Still she was offering and had sobered up enough to know what she wanted so I quickly slipped off my jeans and went for it.

"Fuck my ass, honey, oh it's wonderful!" she moaned. "and it's soo naughty!"

Yeah I'd totally corrupted Supergirl. There was going to be a special hell for me, assuming I could have an afterlife.

Before I knew it my cock was stretching her and then rather easily I was sliding inside deep inside. All I cared about know was that it was

an exquisite pleasure as my cock slid deep into Kara's asshole. I'd thought her pussy was the best ever but this took the top slot of my favourite things in the universe.

I heard myself groan, while feeling my cock sink deep into her hot ass. It was the most incredibly nasty and sexy thing I had ever done. Mostly because Kara wasn't part demon and therefore did really have much of a dark side to her even when she was jealous. So doing something like to her was just so evil.

"Yeah, ohhh, honey yeah!" my girlfriend moaned.

She shook her ass as she trembled as if she either in pain or experiencing a intense pleasure, or perhaps it was both.

Then she pressed back against me, moving back until her ass was firmly pressed against my thighs and my cock vanished into her stretched butthole. She clenched and I nearly had to stop as it was hard to support my own weight. The way it squeezed my manhood made me want to cum immediately. I had to hold on hard to her hips and try not to get my mind blown along with my load.

Kara seemed to know what I wanted, and if she was in pain she hid it well and asked me to fuck her. Which I did, but this wasn't going to last for much longer as it was simply to much.

In no time at all I was at my climax .

"Please, please cum in my ass" my girlfriend pleaded in the way that always made me want to do exactly whatever she wanted me to do "I want it soo bad".

Then I was doing it and I let her have it all. She didn't move until I'd gone soft and then she got up to stretch. As for me I couldn't of made myself get off the bed for anything less important that World War Three.

"I'm going to soak in the tub for a bit" Kara told me as she handed over the radioactive space rock ring "I'll be a while so you get some sleep".

Normally she a big fan of post sex cuddles, so I could only assume I'd already met her love and affection quota for the day and given how much attention she craved from me that was saying something.

"Okay" was all said in reply.

I got comfortable, closed my eyes and then went to sleep. Not caring that I had silly grin on my face or that I was lying on top of the bed while naked.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author Note.**

I have this idea for a future DC Gothic story. In 2012 the age of superheroes comes to an end. The Justice League has bee disbanded by Superman, and the heroes either retire, go home or leave Earth.

This leaves Gothic with nothing to do as the super villains are out of business too. He's killed most of them, and those left are in hiding or are being hunted by heroes loyal to the government.

Raven works for the balance which means she's not got much to do either, as there are periods of history were super humans aren't that active. Plus her husband is very depressed, which is bumming her out. So she decides to go a working vacation with her grumpy hubby.

But this time they have to be a bit evil. Because balance requires both. However rather than just go destroy stuff they have to conquer a planet to save it. They replace a greater evil with a lesser one, which means they can indulge their darker desires somewhat, but they won't go too far because they are a lesser evil. They won't go totally mad with power because this a temporary thing, and they have a boss keeping an eye on them.

What I need is a fictional setting that's going to suffer horribly, things get so bad that getting conquered by Dark Gothic and Dark Raven is actually an improvement for the locals.

The setting has to have some magic, but it does not need to be primitive, so it can have cool tech as well. Hot babes are a bonus because Raven likes being in a harem, she's kinky that way, but it's not vital as she wouldn't mind it just being the two of them.

Ace could be in it too. She might take human form for a while or just be ascended. Putting her in the harem would make things easier as she can re-write people's minds. Which is a handy power.

Anyway if you have any thoughts or suggestions then let me know.

**Reviews **

**DarkAvenger001 **

I have not see the 200th episode. It sounds worth watching. So I will check it out if I get the chance.

You think Gothic and Dean Winchester would get along. He seems like a jerk to me, but given his life who can blame him. I could have a Gothic run into him if you have a plot idea. Give me some ideas and you'll get full credit.

**Joe Lawyer **

Well he thinks he's ready. We know that he won't be able to handle it, but people can fool themselves.

Ace become an immortal high power and it's only confirmed that she remains ascended while Gothic is off being Dark Angel. She can always come up with a plan to make herself his long-term partner. Or I can just make a new character who happens to be immortal.

I do plan for some side stories that involve dimension hoping. Since they don't take place in any DC Verse they will be proper crossovers.

Ascending sounds like the worse thing ever. An immortal goddess, well maybe in the future. He's got a thousand years to get through before his alien goddess gets him to herself. Nice idea with the Kryptonese I should be able to do something with that. Maybe I can come with my own interpretation of Kryptonian society and culture as well.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Halloween Part 1**

**Slade Wilson Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

Deciding that I could no longer to deny my fate I had gone into the house's study and had willed myself to face mankind's greatest torture.

Paperwork.

Inheriting the wealth and property of a millionaire was not a simple process. There were forms to fill in, wills to be carried out, and letters to reply to. Thankfully Deathstroke, had a good account and an equally good lawyer. I didn't even have to worry about either of them screwing me because no one who had worked for the world's greatest assassin, would be then be foolish enough to betray that man's chosen successor.

Most of what I had to do was to just check things. I had part ownership in a number of businesses all over the United States and safe houses just like this one in a number of cities world. The invests in Jump City were the newest, which struck me as odd as Wilson had tried to destroy this city a few times over the years.

Deathstroke had also owned a lot of stock if the stockbroker, who was also the best money could hire, did his job then I wasn't going to have to worry about being short of cash. Assuming of course the women in my life didn't get bored with shoe shopping and started buying an equal number of cars.

"Hey, honey" greeted Kara as she opened the door "I just wanted you to know that I'm making a chicken dinner".

I'd missed eating a proper Sunday dinner, so my girlfriend had decided to make for me. I guessed that I must have mentioned it at some point. Neither of us talked much about the worlds we'd grown up on, but I had mentioned a few things about my old life when asking her about her home plant.

One of those few things she was willing to discuss was how to talk to her in her native speech.

"Nahkluv" I said in Kryptonese.

It meant thanks, and it was one of the few words I knew that could be used outside of the bedroom.

I was attempting to learn Kryptonese and not Kryptonian, because it was for every day use and it translated into English much better than the more formal and very alien, Kryptonian. I couldn't even look at the more ceremonial stuff written down. It was so complex I felt like a primitive just trying to read it. It made no sense to me, and I read Old One, which made no sense to Kara, so at least we were even on that score.

"Khap zhao rrup" she said to me.

If I had that right it was 'I love you', but I couldn't just say it back because a man said it to a woman differently. 'Khap' was only 'I' if a female used it, assuming I remembered that correctly.

Also 'zhao' meant romantic sexual love and also lust, which were apparently the same thing to her species, which went a long way to explaining our sex life. Her people rarely had sex without a strong romantic attachment, she'd confessed that it wasn't unheard of, but the idea of lust not being a part of romantic love was really strange to her.

Which also explained why she'd gotten so frisky on our second date, she'd simply known that I was a suitable romantic partner and had tried to express that growing feeling. She'd confessed that last night, along with the fact that she'd pretty much planned our whole romance right from the start.

She just hadn't been able to predict what would happen between Raven and I during that whole Trigon thing. But to be fair I hadn't seen it coming either, and I'd lived with Raven for about a year before that event. Robin had to been the one to tell me, but it hadn't sunk until after the magic girl and I had started dating. Which was just before Kara had turned up looking to join the Teen Titans.

"Khahp zhao rrip " I said

"And you call me?" she prompted.

"Zrhueiao"

It meant beautiful, but it could also mean handsome if she said it to me. It didn't require you account for what gender you were or what gender the person you were talking to was, so it was easy to remember.

Kara then kissed me, which meant I'd said it right as she was a big believer in positive reinforcement.

"You should see Blackfire and Ace" my lady love mentioned "they're going out tonight as Teen Titans".

Ah yes Halloween. The one night of the year you're suppose to take candy from strangers.

"They were Teen Titans" I pointed out "so it's not much of a costume".

"No there going as the other Titans. Robin's Titans".

Which is what we all called the original group as by the time Kara had joined the team Tim Drake had already started to spend less time being a hero. I'd taken over later, but there had been times when it was just Raven, Supergirl, and Gothic in the Titan Tower. By then we hadn't really been his Titans.

"Blackfire is going as her sister" my lover told me.

That made me laugh, and that got my girlfriend going. It took me a few moments to calm down.

"Glorious, more brightly coloured unhealthy snack foods".

That was my best impression of Starfire, it was awful, but the silly voice I used got Kara laughing again.

"So who is Ace going as?" I inquired after the lol session.

I sort of counted as one of the originals, even if I hadn't actually done that much with that group. So it might be me. I wasn't sure if the idea was creepy or flattering.

"She's going as Raven" was the answer I was given "she using her powers to levitate so she looks even more like Ray. It's so adorable. She didn't want to dress as you because they don't have your costume down at that new store, and your clothes are just way too big on her".

Well that made sense. I didn't really have a uniform. I tended to dress how I wanted to dress. Even Kara didn't really have a fixed uniform any more.

"Oh I have some mail" my girlfriend then said.

She wore leather and denim jackets a lot these days, so the letters had been hidden in her pocket. I often wondered how she carried things when wearing her old uniform.

"I stopped by Titan Tower" she then explained "oh and Raven has a box of fan mail that was addressed to both of you in what will be her room. Some of it was just for you, but a lot has both your names on it".

Clearly she'd used her X-ray vision to sneak a peek. Which was a bit rude, but at least she hadn't hidden anything from me.

"I didn't know you like poetry?".

That sounded a little random, or it was until I connected the dots. Someone had sent me some poems.

"I don't" I told her "Raven knows that so she must of put them away. I can barely stand the stuff she writes".

"Aww, I and thought you were a romantic" Kara said in a not serious way.

"I am" I replied "it's just that I don't like emo poems".

Despite this I could quote a few lines of Raven's work.

"Well you're a rocker and a bad boy, so that makes sense" reasoned Kara "but what puzzles me is this: Why do so many girls in this city want you to have some of their underwear? Is this a turn on for you, cause you have some of mine to wear if you want".

"That is in no way the reason" I replied "I have no desire for any girl to give me their underwear".

That had not as convincing as I'd hoped.

"I'll leave some under your pillow just in case you like having a pair around" Kara promised "not to wear, but to remind you of who belongs in your bed".

God I hoped she didn't think I was that weird. Then again with her X-ray vision she'd know that I wore boxers all the time, so she was just trying to tease me.

Then going on to tell me about the letters she said

"You got invited to a big, fancy party tonight in Gotham, but you can't go cause you have work".

Yes monitor duty. But I was working with my sexy alien babe, so it was all good with me.

"And the hostess is Tali al Ghul" she added in a soft growl.

Ah well that explained the invite. I wasn't known in Gotham as anyone important other than Shadowflight. However my future wife no doubt who was behind that mask. However it was best not to mention that as Kara very valid reasons for not like Miss al Ghul.

"Oh and you've been asked if you'd like to be sold at a charity auction".

Some men tend to fail at listening to what their partners have to say. Sadly I rarely got to experience that. I heard nearly everything and reacted to it.

"Wait, what?"

Kara smiled and then explained.

"Every November there's this silly fund-raiser for people who get hurt because of fights between people like us and the bad guys. The Titans never get asked because there aren't really part of the League. The super heroines get sponsored to do something with a group of people. I went camping with some cute little boy scouts last year. The oldest was like nine or something. They were all so sweet. They picked me some wild flowers, and I fought a bear".

Anyone else would be confused, but that all made sense to me. She'd gone camping with some kids and a bear had wandered into the camp site. She'd then gone on to protect the children.

"So you raise money by doing something fun with cute kids, and I get sold as slave?" I asked.

That didn't seem right. Then again I'd warp the tiny little minds of children, so maybe it was for the best.

"Only for a day" Kara informed "I think last year the Flash spent the his time fixing some rich old ladies gardens. He made an entire hedge maze in one afternoon".

That was impressive.

"I bet you'll just end up being dragged around and shown off by some emo girl with really rich parents, some one who fancies you like Ace does... can I have like five hundred thousand dollars?"

"What!"

Even for me that was a lot of money. I had a few a hundred million sure, but most of that was tied up with investments. I had millions in accounts, but the banks here couldn't just put that into a suitcase.

"I want to bid on you as Kara Kent" she told me "Kal got a million dollars last year, but you're not as famous so half a million should do. I want to tie you to your bed for the whole day so you don't get tempted".

Okay, she was going crazy.

"My answer is no, as I don't do the sexually submissive thing thank you very much, so there will no restraining me to anything, but I will not have sex with anyone who pays me for it. That I can promise".

Even I had my limits. Whoring myself out was one of them.

"Assuming you have a choice, someone evil might win you. Lex Luthor won the bidding for Kal a few years back".

Given that slavery was illegal here I didn't think it would work out that way.

"I guess Lex trying to kill him" I reasoned.

"No just to humiliate him" my girlfriend answered "I just want to tie you to a bed and have my wicked way with you. So it's not like you'd have to do any of the work".

Yeah like Lex Luthor didn't want to do kind of thing with Superman.

"The answer is still no" I said.

Kinky as that sounded getting tied up would make me feel helpless, which would prevent me from relaxing. And besides I knew enough spells to escape even from that sort of trap.

"Aren't I worth that much" Kara asked.

She then used one of her looks. The adorable one that made her look like she'd been thrown out of heaven for being too beautiful. I would have to give her something or my heart would break when she turned on the puppy dog eyes.

"Tell you what you can have a credit card, and while I'm gone you can shop as much as you want. Take the girls with you and buy girl stuff".

She accepted that compromise, but only after adding a few terms of her own.

"Okay, but I'm going to do wear you out the night before, and then I'll buy some sexy outfits for when you get back. You won't even be able to talk to another girl by the time I'm done with you".

Well that was one way of dealing with the issue. It was a scary way, but she couldn't kill me with sex. At least I couldn't see how. But if there was a way I'm sure she'd find it.

**Ethan Rayne's Shop – Jump City – October 2002**

"Please don't think I am ungrateful" said Ethan Rayne to the hooded figure "but I don't understand why you want me to unleash so much anarchy. I mean if you like this Gothic fellow so much, it seems odd that you'd want to add to his burdens. I'm a Marvel fan myself, so I never cared much for DC , but I know life isn't exactly easy for the heroes here".

"I bet you like playstation more than Xbox as well" muttered Ethan's current employer "I smite people like you".

Anyone who could pluck you out of one dimension and bring you to another was not someone you wanted to mess with so Ethan kept his mouth shut. Which was a struggle for the chaos worshipper, but he didn't want this god thing to smite him.

The robed figure then lowered its hood to show a surprisingly human appearance. Ethan wasn't at all fooled by the illusion, he was hardly the greatest of Mages, but he could read auras well enough to sense the sheer amount of magical power this being had. No human could have this kind of power, few gods would be able to manage it either.

"I'm doing this because he's been tamed" explained the entity known as the Traveller "that Kryptonian girl might as well have put a leash on him, she's domesticated him. Well I am not putting up with that. He's suppose to be having adventures and fighting super villains, not settling down with that Supergirl chick".

The Traveller then raised his arms and did something that caused a thunder-storm to start just before saying. "IT ANNOYS ME!" In a very dramatic voice. Then the being calmed down somewhat before going back to his ranting.

"I mean whose going to keep buying my comic if the hero doesn't have to deal with any real problems. The worse he has to put with these days is a teenage girl's crush. It's funny sometimes, and the sex stuff keeps those internet perverts happy, but without the excessive violence it's not really working as a comic book".

Ethan had read these comics, and he thought that Kara bird was quite the catch. In his view anyone who could get a girl like into tight leather trousers was a bloke worthy of respect. Sure he liked his ladies a little more seasoned, but he could understand the attraction.

"He's so doped these days he's not thinking about getting a harem. He's suppose to be shagging Trigon's little brat, and at least a few other evil women".

Trigon had been mentioned before. Apparently the two beings had met before and had an intense dislike for each other.

"For a part demon she's disappointing, however she at least likes Gothic's darker side. They could of been great together, but no she had exercise her free will and end up serving Cosmic Balance!" the Traveller added.

At this point the chaos worshipper was starting to wonder why such a powerful god thing didn't just fix things, but again he held his tongue as he didn't want know what this Old One meant by 'smite'. Ethan had the horrible impression that it involved tentacles.

"What was the point of getting Ra's al Ghul involved if he's not going to marry Tali as planned. An immortal warrior leading an army of ninjas would so awesome".

Not for the first time Ethan wondered just how demented his current employer was. Sure the rewards for tonight's fun were good and all that, but there was so much crazy a man could take.

"Maybe I should get started" the Chaos Mage suggested.

The Traveller agreed that it was time.

**The Watchtower – Earth Orbit – October 2002**

"What are you thinking about?" Kara asked me.

I turned my head to consul next to me and saw that my girlfriend was looking at while resting her head on one her hands. She looked like a teenage girl in love, which she was.

"About your Halloween costume" I replied.

And that was the truth. She hinted that she was going to wear something special for our little private party later.

"And about the fact that we have a lot of sex" I then added "I didn't think women enjoyed it as much as men".

Okay they could, but unless they nymphomaniacs they didn't normally want more sex than the man and I wanted sex nearly all of the time.

"We don't have that whole 'sex is dirty' issue on Krypton" Kara explained "it's not such a big deal when you don't have STDs, and decent birth control comes in a pill".

She mentioned the birth control thing before, because naturally I'd been worried about her getting pregnant. Not that this was likely to happen as were to different species, but half breeds did exist they were just very rare.

It wouldn't be a bad thing per say if it did happen. It was just that neither of could be a full time parent right now, and there hadn't been a kryptonian/human before, at least not as far as anyone knew, so we'd no idea if any kids we might have would be healthy or not.

"Besides I told you that romantic love and lust are the same thing for me, and if our sex drives weren't compatible then we wouldn't even be together. It's not like I've slept with a lot of men either, or any women which is a shame because I am a bit bisexual. So we could have a threesome when Raven gets back".

She'd mentioned the bisexual thing a while back, but I hadn't taken in seriously as this had been before we'd gotten together. It wasn't odd for a girl to try to impress a guy by saying stuff like that. Some men went in for the girl on girl thing. Me I liked sex to be me on girl, but if I knew both of the women really well, which I did, it might work.

"Really?" I questioned "how does that work if you only have sex with someone you love. Can you love two people if you mate for life".

I was human and human males at least weren't as into the whole monogamy thing as kryptonians were, so having two sexual partners wasn't such a big deal for me, well not all the time, but it was for her. She only agreed to share because it was better than fighting with Raven. Although that could be the point, maybe she thought us becoming a three-way thing would make things better.

Kara laughed a little before saying.

"I don't want two lovers, but I could fool around with another girl if you wanted me to. I'm submissive to your needs, and I want to be so it's okay. Besides watching you rub oil all over Ace and Fire was kinda hot. I'd like to see how worked up me doing that to another girl would get you"

It had gotten her in a very good mood, and her jealously hadn't been too much of an issue either. Maybe because it had involved her so my attention hadn't been totally focused on another women. Which did upset Kara because she wanted to be my life partner, not just my girlfriend. Which she couldn't be so she might also be trying to make herself so desirable that I'd marry her the first chance I'd got. I did want to marry I just couldn't promise that until I knew what Raven wanted and found if I could get out of the deal with the Demon's Head.

"I could massage Blackfire if you want me to. But we can't a have threesome with anyone cause that would mean cheating on your other sweetheart" my alien babe goddess of a girlfriend reminded "and anyway it's different with Ray cause we've all been in bed together, so it's not a big deal for me if we went further. I'd only do it for you of course, and Raven might not want that as she's completely straight".

My other lover had major Daddy issues, not that you could blame her, so her thing was older and slightly evil men. Which I was, even though I didn't look any older. As for my evil side. Well didn't make much of an appearance these days. But she was totally straight, very kinky but she only wanted her bad boy boyfriend in her bed.

Although come to think on it Raven wouldn't disapprove of me sleeping with another woman because she liked the harem idea. Of course that could have been a joke or just an attempt to turn me on. My part demon girlfriend was as perverted as me sometimes, but her sense of humour was very unlike my own.

"And Raven is sexy" Kara then said "I can so see why you used to tie her up. I wouldn't mind a chance to spank her. If you allowed it".

Now that was a inciting idea.

"Wait a second, if your submissive to me then how come you run my life?" I inquired "I'm not complaining, it's just that you are so the Mum of our little messed up family".

That didn't quite add up. Submissive girls didn't try to run your lives. At least not so directly.

"Because you need someone to help take care of you" Kara explained "I don't run your life really. I just like making things easier for you".

Well it seemed that way sometimes, but on the other hand she had been the best Teen Titan when it came to following my orders. Also if it was more about making me happy than wanting to run her lover's life, it did sort of make sense.

"It makes me feel good. It's not like its that much work really, and you don't order me around anyway. Plus I have super speed and I don't need much sleep. Besides I'm totally devoted to you and I want you to be my husband. It's all I ever wanted... well that and a few kids. I did plan to be scientist for a while before having babies, but instead I'm Supergirl".

Hard to imagine it, but the Maid of Might did want to be a loving housewife who stayed at home with the kids. Seemed a bit of a waste given how much power she had, but having such a down to earth dream was part of why she didn't go alien overlord on everyone, like her cousin sometimes seemed to.

"I don't want to get married now" Kara then added "I'm broody, but I want to be in the Justice League, it's just that I need a life outside of it too. A job would be nice, the problem there that I can't plan my time well enough. So I look after our strange family. Which is a job as far as I'm concerned".

Indeed it was. Ace needed a lot of attention because she'd been denied it growing up. Granted a lot of that came from me, however it was Kara who did the mother stuff because I simply couldn't handle that sort of thing. I just spoiled her with attention. Which Ace also did need as she'd never gotten that either.

As for Blackfire, well she was an adult yet sometimes she did need someone around to stop her from having too much fun. For someone who had been a ruler of a whole planet she didn't handle adult responsibilities that well either. Although she was a good heroine, she at least to her redemption seriously.

"Did lot's of women do that on Krypton?" I asked "you know, become housewives".

"Yeah it's a patriarchal society... I mean it was".

That surprised me. I mean that Kara wanting to be a more old fashioned kind of wife was one thing. However you'd think that an advanced society would be more into equal rights, but evidently that was not a universal concept. Clearly it was not an extreme thing as while Kara had her issues she was a very strong women (in ways that had nothing at all to do with living under our yellow sun) she knew what she wanted and would work hard to get it. Still it was rather shocking to hear her say that.

Plus there was the fact that Krypton hadn't been as perfect as people might think, however lots of people did believe that because they forgot that Superman's strong sense of ethics actually came from his human parents. Kara was a much better example of a typical Kryptonian.

"I told you that Kal is head of the family" Kara reminded as she sensed my surprise "I am older than him, but I'm a woman, so I should really do as he says".

Not that she did, but she didn't have to here and nor should she. Even I didn't like bossing her about, and she enjoyed it when I did. Maybe because I didn't do it all the time, and I let her get on with the home-making. Which meant that she was in a big way also in charge of the household.

It made sense that I was more the authority figure in our household as that would be natural for her, even if I didn't boss her around. I didn't even need to as she was doing what was right for the family. Clark was simply too over protective were as I had faith in her. He was trying to be a father to a woman who was ready to be a mother. That was his mistake, and it was why she was distancing herself from him.

"I thought he was head of the family because he was Jor-El's son" I replied, as not everything made sense yet "Your Uncle was head of the family before he died and Kal El is his only child, so I assumed it was like inheriting a title".

"It is, sort of" my girlfriend clarified "the head of the family is the oldest living male, which is now Kal, but back home I'd of married into a different family by the time he'd grown up so he never would have been my boss. That's why I am called Zor-El. Back home I kinda belonged to my father, but if I married say someone from the House of Dar then I'd of been Kara Dar-El. I'd keep the family name but I'd belong to my new family which is why the Zor part gets replaced"

That sounded sort of like how women took their husband's name when they got married. So maybe not as alien as it first sounded.

"I'm not saying women were considered to be property" Kara went on "I was raised to obey my father and my uncle, but they only told me what to do with my life when it served the whole House. It was a political thing more than anything else. A House has to be united and it need allies so marrying a daughter to another House helps build those alliances..."

"Stop" I said when something she said confused me "you told me you chose your mates, so how could you be married to some guy as a political move. I mean when you told me about the... taste test, you said that you have to think a man would be a good father before the test could happen. So how do arranged marriages work?"

She seemed surprised that I asked that question.

"I'll get to that" she promised before carrying on with what she had been explaining "Anyway as long as I didn't embarrasses the name El I could do what I wanted. I was never told I couldn't go out and have fun. Yeah I had friends that my parents approved of, but we got to do stuff we wanted to do. It's not like on parts of Earth were women can't even leave their homes without having a man with them. Even the less progressive Houses would never treat a woman that badly".

Thinking on it I realised that humans had no right to judge the gender roles of alien civilizations. My distant ancestors would have considered their cattle to be more valuable than their own daughters. Sick by the standards of most of the western world, but there were nations out there that still had those sort of attitudes towards the female half of our race.

"The House of El were scientists so I was expected to be one too, then when I'd get married I'd be whatever that House needed me to be. But who I married was up to me, because you can't make someone fall in love. There were arranged marriages. Not that I had to worry about that. But if I had I would of grown up with that boy was my friend, so by I'd know him well enough to figure out that he'd be a good husband and father or not".

That sounded quite sensible once you understood her race as well as I did. Arranged marriages weren't that odd for humans either. That whole thing about getting the permission of a woman's father before you asked for her hand was still considered to be a big deal. Even if it was a mere formality in the more liberal parts of the world.

"Okay making sense so far" I allowed "but what happens if you're not compatible with the guy you're House wants you to marry"

"If he wasn't what I needed then I'd know, you know how that part works, and I'd do what you call dating, and my family would host parties so I'd get to met men they approved of in advance. I was lucky they let me find my own partner, which I did, twice, and both times I found someone I could be happy with".

She'd still be with that the first guy if her home world hadn't gone boom.

"But if I hadn't then someone who thought I might be a good match would court me".

"Court you" I said with a small laugh "you make it sound like you were the daughter of a noble".

"I kinda was" she said by way of an answer "The House of El was one of the ruling families".

She then went on to explain that her family line extended back thousands of years, to a time when the more savage tribes of Kryptonians still waged war against one another. Sort of like Earth in the present day as modern humans were savage tribes to her.

"Wait so, you're like a princess" I realised.

Oh my god I'd been screwing royalty.

"I can't believe this" I muttered "this is insane. I can't be sleeping with a noble lady. I'm just a messed up guy who has whacky adventures. I can't be in a relationship with a sort of princess".

"It doesn't change anything" protested the love of my life "I chose you".

"Yes it does!" I argued

Thankfully the techs were making an effort not to listen, and most of the time we'd been speaking too softly for them to hear anyway.

"No it doesn't. Blackfire is a princess" Kara reminded "She was Grand Ruler of her whole world and she's just a good friend to you, so why would freak out about me being part of a noble family".

That wasn't a question, but I answered it anyway.

"Because I've not been... doing things that might be illegal in this state with her".

It had to be against galactic law to bugger an alien princess.

"Hold on a second" my girlfriend urged "wasn't Trigon some sort of demon-king?"

Well he was categorized under demon lords, but other texts labelled him demon-king because he ruled an entire dimension. Which also made him a Hell-god depending on how you viewed such things. There was a lot of speculation in the books, and stuff about Trigon sometimes got mixed with legends about other powerful demons, but I knew that he had ruled an demonic underworld and if I was his heir that meant I had a claim.

"Yeah he was a demon lord in title" I said to her "but..."

She stopped me there.

"So if your his heir that means you inherited everything that was his. Like with Deathstroke".

That was sort of how it worked.

"Well I have a tiny fraction of his power. However Raven's the one who killed him, so she's the one who can take the throne".

Demons did have some laws, and patricide was an acceptable way becoming the ruler of a hell.

"Yeah but that still kinda makes you a prince if you think about it" she pointed out "the heir of a prince or even just a lord is a noble. It might not count for anything here on Earth, but neither does the fact that I'm from a ruling family, because the ruling council doesn't exist any more. And since you actually have a kingdom... sort of, that means I'm the lucky girl whose screwing royalty".

Huh, that was true kinda, and it was odd she'd used that expression, because I'd not said that out loud. She must of known that I'd been thinking it.

Also it explained a lot about why she didn't seem to understand that clothes were not free. A noble's daughter would rarely pay for things. Assuming they used money. Which might be the case as shopping for things seemed to be really novel for her. Then again maybe they'd just had things delivered.

"Okay, but that doesn't mean I'm worthy of you" was my next statement.

Then again who could be? She was Supergirl for crying out loud.

"Of course your not, silly. I'm your goddess" she informed me before singing "_I'm a bitch, I'm a tease, I'm a goddess on my knees. You know you wouldn't want it any other way"_

Yeah that song could really be about her. Aside from the fact that she wasn't actually a mother. She did seem to embody quite a few of those contradictions.

"So you're my goddess, who I don't actually worship, pray to or build temples for" I said.

"Yeah, but I could _soo_ make you do all that" she mock threatened with a big smile on her face "My caveman is just lucky I like being told what to do by a big, sexy guy".

That made me feel all warm in the pit of my stomach, and I must have been blushing by now. Still it really felt odd that she wanted to my little housewife and stay home with the kids.

"Tis true" I admitted "you could so do that".

Yeah we were an odd couple, but it worked. Somehow it worked.

Although a few things still didn't add up. I was sure that Kara was trying to modify my behaviour, not necessarily a bad thing, but that did not make sense because we were so suppose to be compatible. If that was true then why try to change me? And of I was suppose to be the authority figure in her life, then why did her species dope their mates up? Granted it was more extreme in my case, because she had a lot of milk but still there were unanswered questions here.

I came up with the answer I could, that she was doing it to make me happier, and thus to ensure we stayed together in the long run. Which made some sense, as that would be a valid reason for her, yet it didn't seem quite right,

The only way it really all made sense was if Kryptonian women let the men think they were in charge by acting submissive. But all the time they were actually in charge.

This happened a lot with human couples as well even the more fashioned wives, who obeyed their husbands to all appearances, tended to be the ones who made sure the household ran smoothly.

It was like a massive conspiracy. Let the men think their in charge by running the governments and even getting to boss their partners around while the women made sure things actually got done. In fact it might not even require any organisation what so ever. Daughters would just copy their mothers and pick it up without having to be told.

Of course it wasn't perfect because if the system was flawless then there'd be no need for women to fight for equality because they were already in charge. The battle of the sexes would have been won long ago and the men wouldn't even know they had lost.

The existence of feminism only made sense if not all the women argeed with the plan. None of them could admit that there was any sort of plan, because then the men would know. But clearly they didn't agree with it.

On the other hand I could just be over thinking things. If Kara was in on the plan she wouldn't admit it, and if she didn't know about this female agenda then she would just think the whole idea silly.

The best way to test my possibly insane theory would be to mentioned it and see how she reacted. If she tried to distract me with food or sex, or even both, because I knew her well to know that she'd use those tools of distraction. Then I would know the truth as id she didn't she just laugh at the idea. Also I needed to run this by a man of great intelligence who was also single. An outsiders perspective would be useful, even if was just to point out that I was going crazy.

But not yet. For now I would make it look as if I was thinking about the topics we'd just discussed.

"I guess your lucky that your cousin thinks you should marry for love" I told the alien babe "if he wanted to marry you off to build an alliance then you'd never see me again"

Kara suddenly stopped smiling and nearly slumped over the computer she was suppose to be using to monitor weather conditions over North America. There was nothing bad due to happen. However there had been, and might still be, villains with power over the weather. So really she should be paying attention. Me I was watching over the USA by keeping track of 911 calls. Normally this wouldn't be left to a noob, but it was Halloween so most of the League were at the party in the mess hall. Blackfire had intended to go, which was why I was duty tonight, but she changed her mind and was even now taking Ace trick of treating. The telepath was a little old for that sort of thing, but she could pass for a younger girl due to being rather small in size and the Raven outfit was just so freaking adorable.

"Is something the matter, Zrhueiao?" I asked of my lady love.

"I was just thinking about marriage" she replied "I can't be your wife".

Thinking fast I came up with something that might at least allow us to have something to look forward too. Besides if she actually wouldn't have to wait long if she went to the future next year as I would have a thousand years to arrange a wedding. Female evil plan or not there was no way would I'd ever be foolish enough not to take the chance to put a ring on her finger. I wanted her to have that family, and in a thousand years there would be the technology to allow us to have kids. There would be even if I had to fund the research myself.

"Well we're both going to be around for a while" I pointed out "I'm immortal and you could live for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands cause of the yellow sun thing".

"So you're saying that you will marry me, if you we ever get the chance"

"Ye.."

That was as far as I got as she threw herself right at me. Getting hugged by a fully powered Supergirl is not something that should ever be considered safe. At least not when she's forgotten that her boyfriend is actually just an enhanced human and not a member of her own race.

"Oh my spine!".

She broke the chair I'd been sitting on, but thankfully not me, and as I got up every techie in the room was looking right at us.

"You okay, honey?" she asked as I got up under my own power.

I would have assured her that I was, but that was when an alarm on my computer went off. Hundreds of 911 calls were being made in Jump City. Something was very wrong.

"We have a problem" I told Kara as we both stared at the screen "someone is messing with our city".

"Ace and Fire, they're all alone" my worried girlfriend said.

Yeah she was so the Mum.

"Not for long" I assured "we're going to find out what's going on and then someone is going to pay for ruining Halloween".

Time to hit things with sticks.

Author Note

Seems almost like a Gothic/Kara chapter doesn't it. We know it isn't, but to DC Gothic everything seems more or less normal for our sort of hero. Oh boy is he in for a surprise in the next chapter. (Evil Laugh)

Also I hope that my take on Kryptonian society makes sense. I was trying to explain how Kara can want to be a submissive wife and still go out and fight crime. She's motivated to keep her family happy and strong. That's why she's able to let Ace and Blackfire bond with Gothic in a way that would normally make her jealous. She was trying to get them to relax around each other so they could get closer.

She was brought up to think of the family first and to do what she was told by the man if it was best for the family. Superman was trying to take away from her mate and the sort of family that the Teen Titans were, so that is why she didn't just do as she was told. That and her experience with Darkseid would of soured her a bit to the idea of anyone telling her how best to run her life.


	10. Chapter 10

Author Note

I'm not very happy with this chapter. I might have to re-write it later, but for now I just can't seem to do better. I think I should write a few chapters for another story. A change is as good as a rest as they say. Hopefully I can recharge the batteries and come back to this story refreshed.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Halloween Part 2**

**Ethan Rayne's Shop – Jump City – October 2002**

"Is everything ready?" asked the Traveller

"It is" replied Ethan "every costume was sold, I made sure that they'll be an equal number of heroes and villains out tonight, with some magical creatures thrown in".

While no one would keep any of the powers or abilities from the creatures orould trigger the meta-genes of a few kids. Enough to ensu character they became during the spell, the chaos magic wre that the future Teen Titans would have some recruits as well as a plenty of foes to fight in he future.

"Then begin" commanded the god thing.

Rayne did exactly that. He knelt before the bust of Janus and began to weave the spell that would create the night's fun.

"_Janus, I invoke your spirit. Hear my plea. Seize the night for your own reason. Come to us, appear and show to us that which is infinite power"_

Ethan then marked his face with the blood that came from the animal he had sacrificed to the Janus of this dimension.

"_The mask transforms itself into flesh and blood. Your holy presence curdles the heart. Janus! Take the night!"_

(Line Break)

**Streets - Jump City – October 2002**

"Thanks for doing this with me" said Ace to Blackfire as the two young women walked down the street "I wanted Goth to take me out, but...".

She stopped talking when someone got close enough to overhear.

"He's the Dad, and that means he has to have a job" said the alien princess once they were free to talk "that how it works".

Well it worked that way on television.

"Maybe it's better he didn't" Ace reasoned "I don't want him to treat me like a little kid. It's nice sometimes, I just wish...".

The telepathic meta-human stopped herself again as this was hardly the first time the two super powered girls had discussed this topic. In fact it was starting to become annoying. Still Blackfire made an effort.

"If it were me, I'd just enjoy it" the alien babe said "if you're the baby of the group that means he'll spoil you the most. He'd spend more time with you too, and if you really want him to see as a grown up then just ask him if you can be his sidekick".

That stopped Ace in her tracks, which was good timing as a large party of kids had just come round the corner.

"Sidekick" the telepathic girl muttered before more loudly saying "do you think he would let me work with him?"

"Sure" Blackfire replied as she took some candy out of the plastic pumpkin she was carrying "just tell him you want to learn from him. He'll be really flattered, and you'll get to spend more together. Then when you want him to spoil you, then you go back to just being Ace and act like the little sister he wants you to be. Have your cake and bake it"

"Have your cake and eat it" corrected the girl in the Raven costume.

Ace thought about it for a moment and figured that it could work. She did like being the baby sometimes as she'd never gotten to be a kid, but at the same time she didn't want to be treated like a child all the time. If she made herself a new hero identity, as Gothic's sidekick, then he'd have to treat as more of an adult for them to work together. Then in their home life she could enjoy being his little sister without worrying that the guy she was crushing over never saw as the young women she was.

"But I can't be his sidekick" Ace pointed out "I'm not in the Justice League".

"They might let you join if you were a member's sidekick" the princess reasoned "but even if they don't, so what? There's no rule that says he can't train you and then take you on patrols. And if Titans start-up again you'll need that training anyway, so that's your argument if he doesn't say yes right away. We both know he won't say no if you give him the sad eyes ".

The telepathic meta-human thought it over and realised that this plan could work.

"You're really smart, Fire" Ace praised.

The Princess shook her dyed hair and gave her friend a big smile before saying.

"Of course I am. I'm gorgeous, clever and I have super powers. What's not to like about me?"

Ace might of said something on that subject but there was a sudden chill wind, and as it washed over the two young women they both collapsed to the ground.

(Line Break)

**Streets - Jump City – October 2002**

Starfire, the Grand Ruler of Tamaran picked herself off the ground, and dusted herself off. She then looked around and asked herself a question.

"Why am I back on Earth?"

"Star" said a soft voice.

Koriand'r turned to see a face she had looked upon in over two years.

"Friend Raven" the former Teen Titan said switching to English "you are even more small and adorable than I remember".

The daughter of Trigon suddenly found herself pressed up against Starfire's chest as the alien queen picked her up and span her around. This was rather a shock to the part demon because she'd never been close to Starfire before and now they seemed to be best friends.

"Did you have a growth spurt?" Raven asked of her team-mate.

"It is you whose spurted, only you have spurted down" explained Koriand'r "I think I have travelled through time once more".

They would have discussed this more, however all around then other people were waking up, however not all of them looked like people any more.

"I think we should go to Titan Tower" suggested Raven "maybe Robin and the others are there".

"Robin has left the Titans" said Starfire as both of the female heroes took to the air "however Friend Gothic may still be the leader of the team".

"Whose Gothic?" asked Raven.

(Line Break)

**Streets - Jump City – October 2002**

In a brilliant flash of light Kara and I appeared on the streets of Jump City. We'd not had any time to find out what was going on, and we got the chance to look around we were none the wiser. What we found was total madness.

"What the fuck!" my girlfriend swore.

That surprised more than chaos going on around us. I was the one who normally used foul language.

"Yeah what she said" I muttered.

My lover started to scan the area with her X-ray vision which made her eyes glow white, while I tried to get a feel for the area using my less scientific senses. I could sense a lot of magic here, but didn't feel anything like Raven's magic. Trigon's power was connected to rage, however that also wasn't anything like what I was feeling. I didn't have years of experience with mystical forces to guide me so we would have to figure thing out the old fashioned way.

We were still both studying the scene around us when a black-robed popped up out of no where.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Some green light hit me and then next thing I knew I was looking up at the night sky, but only until Kara's face blocked the view.

"I thought that spell killed people" my girlfriend said in a very worried voice "but you're okay. Guess you really are immortal".

"That's me. I'm the man who never dies" I replied "and I never leave the toilet seat up either".

"You're so not as funny as you use to be" Kara told me.

Clearly we'd gotten past the stage of our relationship where she felt the need to find me amusing all the time.

"What happened to the Death Eater?" I inquired as Supergirl helped me stand up.

"I broke his wand, knocked him out and then tied to him to a lamp post, upside down. I'd of done worse but he was just a kid".

"You mean some brat tried to kill me?" I asked.

Well he hadn't tried really, he'd of succeed if not for the fact that I wasn't mortal.

"Yeah he looks about eight years old, and what's really weird is the wand turned into plastic when I snapped it. It's just a kid's toy".

Kids turning into their Halloween costumes. That reminded me of something.

"Okay so we..."

All the background noise went away and the only sound was a rhythmic breathing that sounded rather artificial.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me" I said while starting to back away.

"Is he the bad guy in one of those movies you like so much?" questioned my lady-love "Dark Vader?"

"Darth Vader" I corrected as we both started to retreat "and how can you know what a Death Eater is and not know who this guy's name".

"I can speed read so I read those books really fast" reminded Kara "but I don't pay much attention to the stuff you watch cause its boring. I just like spending time with you".

She did love the cuddles, that was true.

"Fair enough" I replied.

Darth Vader said nothing as he took out his lightsabre and activated it. Kara meanwhile had changed direction. She was now walking towards an armed and dangerous Sith Lord

"Oh that reminds" she said casually "I made you a laser sword for your birthday, but I had even better idea for a gift, so I'll give it to you...".

Darth Vader then used the Force to send Kara flying down the street. While the Darkside was not magic Supergirl had special no defence against it seemed. Of course it could be magic, as the characters around us were more like deadly illusions cast upon real people rather than real transformations.

Thankfully Kara could fly so she able to control her movement and she recovered very fast.

"If you weren't a kid I'd..."

She had to stop again as the red bladed lightsabre was thrown at her. She caught it and crushed the handle which turned to weapon into broke plastic and a few batteries.

"Honey, would you please knock this guy out" requested my girlfriend "this is so a battle for nerds".

I gave her look which promised retribution for that comment later, in the form of her being naked over my lap, however she just sent a smile my way that told me that she'd make me forgive her. We might be different species, but there were times when we seemed to know exactly what the other person was thinking.

Going on the offensive I felt as if time had slow down. It hadn't of course it was just that my remarkable brain could process information faster and give commands to my body without me having to actually think about what I was doing. This was a product of training more anything else and was partly why Robin could fight so well. For the likes of us most people were slow and predictable.

I started off with a smoke bomb, it was my hope that a diversion would distract Vader long enough for my second move. Which was take out my collapsible staff and to throw it without extending it. The baton never hit its target, but I hadn't meant it to. My actual take down move was suppose to be a good kick to the head.

However it never connected and I found myself raising into the air while an invisible hand grabbed my neck. Thankfully for me I had expected this to happen and a quick burst of demonic fire sent at Vader's chest made the Dark Lord lose focus just long enough for me to punch his helmet covered face. Which hurt like hell, but it did the job.

"That was way too easy" I commented.

"It's an illusion" Kara said as she moved over to stand beside me "I can see normal human beings with my X-ray vision, they only look like fictional characters on the outside".

"Some sort of glamour" I mused, thinking out loud "a very good one since they have powers".

Had to be that Halloween spell from BTVS or some variation on it.

"So can you remove the spell?" asked Kara "or counter it with another spell".

I thought the matter over for a second before saying.

"No, but all we have to do is find the guy casting the spell and then make him end it".

Or possibly just smash the statue.

"Someone's in Titan Tower" my girlfriend then told me "I can hear the intruder alarms going off".

Her super hearing was really good.

"Go check it out" I instructed "I'll see if I can use my magic to find what's causing all of this".

Rather than fly off Kara just stood there with her arms folded across her chest.

"You know I'm senior to you in the League" she reminded "you can't boss me around any more".

I did sometimes forget that I wasn't in charge of the super hero sides of our lives. But then I remembered that she liked doing things for me.

"And here I thought you liked me telling you what to do" I said.

"This is work not home" she pointed out "we should report in and see what the League thinks".

"Now hold on a moment" I protested "this our city. We protect it. We'll call for backup if we need it, but I think we can handle this".

We really didn't have time to argue.

"Fine" she agreed "just say please, first".

I tried not to sigh in despair.

"Please will you go and see what's happening at the Tower while I try to end this spell" I requested rather than ordered.

"That's better" Kara said as she took the air.

"Women" I muttered under my breath "totally nuts the lot of them".

**Titan Tower - Jump City**

"I don't know why you..." Kara started to say, but she had to change tracks when she saw the two people who had broken into the temporarily abandoned tower "Starfire, Raven what are you doing here, and what happen to you, Ray. You look like a kid".

"Kara it is good to see you again" greeted Starfire, who looked as if she wanted to give out more hugs.

"Who are you?" asked Raven.

While she was saying that Kara also quickly scanned both of the girls with her X-ray vision. Starfire's biology was alien, however she was slightly too tall. Raven's physiology was human underneath the surface so it took nearly no time at all for Supergirl to figure things out.

"You're Blackfire and Ace" she stated.

Her room-mates had been transformed along with the others. However they didn't know that. They either thought they were the people they dressed as or their minds had been altered. When it came to magic it wasn't always so easy to figure things out.

"I'm Supergirl" Kara said to 'Raven' "if you have her memories then you won't remember because we haven't met yet".

It was also possible that this 'Raven' had the memories of a younger version of the real person, so she might from a time before Kara's ship crashed on Earth.

"Supergirl?" 'Raven' question "are you like Superman's sidekick or something?"

"His cousin" Kara corrected "I'm from the same planet he is".

"This is most perplexing" 'Starfire' complained "I have travelled in time once more and you seem to think I am my sister".

"You are" Kara tried to explain "It's a kind of glamour. You look like Starfire and think you are her, but that's all an illusion you're really Blackfire".

"There is a spell on us" confirmed 'Raven' "but I have no idea how it works, or how to do undo it".

Kara wasn't worried about that.

"Gothic is dealing with the spell" she assured.

"Star mentioned that name" said a puzzled 'Raven' "but I have no idea who he is".

Knowing that it was possible that this 'Raven' was from the past, or at least the mind was, Kara knew that she shouldn't say anything about the present.

"This might just all be an illusion" the hot alien babe said "but I don't know if the you in the past will remember any of this, so I can't tell you anything about your future".

'Raven' narrowed her eyes and tried to read this Supergirl's mind, but being an alien she didn't think in English and she had some decent psychic blocks as well, so all 'Raven' got was a few images of a young man, and there was something oddly familiar about him.

"Listen to me" Kara said "there's a lot of bad things happening out there, and we have to try to it keep under control. None of the bad guys out there are really evil so we have to contain them without hurting them too much. I need both of you to help me".

"Yes, we must aid Supergirl!" declared 'Starfire'

'Raven' sighed and said.

"Fine"

(Line Break)

**Ethan Rayne's Shop – Jump City – October 2002**

A lot of people are cowards, not because they are bad people, but sometimes it is because they are spineless little twats. Ethan Rayne was one of those people. He had a coward's survival instincts, so when the front window of his rented shop was smashed open Rayne was already on the run. Which was a shame really because somebody should have been around to see how cool it looked when Gothic threw the Mortal Combat villain Sub Zero, or at least someone who looked the guy, into the store via the large window at the front of the shop.

Not that Ethan got very far. The Traveller was still there and he'd apparently decided that Rayne should stick around. Literally in fact as Ethan found himself stuck to the wall.

"Magic made fake or not, that guy was tough" commented the immortal as he pulled out one of his twin gauss pistols.

It was true that the characters running around out there were no as tough as the real thing, however that didn't mean that any of them were pushovers. Making it all the way to this shop, which had been easy to find given that the store was advised the local paper, had been a bit of an uphill struggle. Gothic hadn't been attacked that many times, but he'd had to keeping stopping to break up fights.

"Okay where's that statue?" the Justice League member asked of no one.

He intended to shoot it, assuming he could find it, and then he was going to beat up the Chaos Mage behind all of this madness. After that he might end feeding Rayne to a baby Old One. It depended on how bad of a mood he was in after the ass kicking.

Without further delay Gothic headed into the back room and shot the bust of Janus which as expected ended the spell, the small blast wave had no harmful effect but it was impressive to see.

"I honestly thought you'd take a little longer to find this place" said a robed figure as he stepped out of the shadows "not much of an adventure really. I think made you too powerful or maybe just a bit too smart".

"You made me?" inquired the Justice League member.

"I took you from your old boring life and gave you a new one" claimed the man in the robe "I made you immortal, I changed your body so that you would evolve. I even got Ra's al Ghul to chose you as his successor. But then you went and disappointed me. You settled down with Supergirl. I mean don't get me wrong, she's a real good catch, but the problem is that she domesticating you. You're getting boring. She makes things to easy for you, and if you don't have anything to struggle against you won't improve. I put you on the path to becoming either the greatest hero this universe has ever known or even the greatest villain, but instead of doing that you've shacked with some blonde bimbo...".

Gothic sent a small blast of fire at the being, but it might as well have been a gentle breeze for all the good it did.

"I am a god. I am your patron" the being then said "I was ancient when mankind was still swinging from tree to tree. "I am the Traveller by title, were you to hear my true name, your mind would cave in and your heart would explode within your chest".

"Did you just quote Metatron?" the immortal asked.

"I do love that film" remarked the Traveller, before changing the subject "oh and your sales are down".

"Sales?" Gothic asked.

A comic book appeared in the immortal's hands and he looked it over before remarking

"Wait so I'm a comic book character. Does this mean all of this isn't real?".

"No, no it's real" assured the Traveller "The comic is a fictional representation of your life. I brought out the DC franchise in five different dimensions, and devoted it to you and your adventures. Which was fine for the most part. You did whacky things. You slept with attractive women. You even killed a few people. You time travelled. You went into a Hell-dimension and won the heart of a rather sexy part-demon magic girl. You made yourself a nice, big fan base, but now what are you doing? Settling down with a nice girl who wants to give up the superhero life in order to be a house wife!".

The figure under the hood sighed

"I mean know I'm breaking the fourth wall here, but I have a movie deal coming up" the Traveller then said "I wanted it to be all explosions, with an epic battle of good against evil, but at this rate all I'm going have Britt Robertson playing Supergirl, Daveigh Chase, as Raven. Then there will be a complicated love triangle, someone poor girl will get left at the altar, you know that sort of thing. I think that we can both agree that this must be avoided at all costs".

The former Teen Titan had no idea whose those people were, but he assumed that were famous actresses.

"So what do you want me to do?" Gothic asked as he lowered his gun "I won't dump Kara if that's what you have in mind".

"Actually she's very well liked by some of the fans" the Traveller informed "she's considered to be fun. I just don't want you getting to domesticated, so I planned some crossovers, like this one. To keep things interesting".

"You did this" Kara said angrily as she entered the back room of the store followed by Blackfire and Ace "people could have gotten killed!"

The god thing seemed more amused than anything else.

"Are you going to fit me little girl?" the Traveller questioned "because that would be so adorable".

Kara was about to do something incredibly foolish when somebody else made an appearance.

"**Mxyzptlk!"**

The way the Traveller had said that name send shudders up the spines of those who had backbones due to being humanoid. It was the sound you hear before something very powerful and very scary, stomps on as if you are bug and they have big shoes.

"You weren't thinking of tormenting a superhero were you?" asked the imp from the 5th Dimension "because everyone knows that driving capes up the wall is my thing. You can't come here...".

Whatever the imp had been about to say was cut short when the Traveller teleported a short distance, somehow took Gothic's Nth metal sword from the immortal, and then had the point of the blade touching Mxyzptlk's neck before anyone could process what had just happened.

"Got to love Thangarian weapons" remarked the hooded being "even being in contact Nth metal disrupts your powers. I could so easily drive this sword this sword into what passes for a brain and end your existence".

"I thought he was a near omnipotent reality warping being not a magical creature" commented Kara.

Given that the imp from the 5th Dimension had been a pain in the ass for her cousin, Supergirl had always worried that he might turn up to make her life less enjoyable.

"He is" the Traveller explained "he alters reality using mystical forces like I do. His method is different but Nth metal still hurts him".

Gothic smiled slightly as ideas started to fill his mind. Nth metal was rare, however he knew where he could get his hands on some more. All he needed was some information and someone could at building things.

"Anyway he is the deal" the cloaked figure said to the imp "I'm just here to keep my comic book engrossing enough to be worth buying. So if you let me get on with that then I won't stab you in the neck. You can assure the PTBs in this reality that I won't do anything that leads to planetary destruction, and what have you. Actually go and do that. Oh and I won't prank Superman either I promise".

The imp from the 5th Dimension looked ready to wet himself, but he managed to nod and when the Traveller took the blade away from his neck Mxyzptlk simply vanished.

"Right then I have to go and sort a few things out upstairs" declared the god thing "you kids be good now".

With that the Traveller vanished the Nth metal sword fell to the ground.

"What the fuck was all that about?" Blackfire swore.

"I really don't know" said Gothic, who now just realised that Ace was hiding behind him.

The immortal got the impression that the telepathic meta-human had tried to read either Mxyzptlk's or the Traveller's mind, and hadn't liked what she'd seen.

"Let's all just go home and pretend none of this ever happened" suggested Kara "everyone okay with that plan?"

Everyone said yes, but Gothic's super human brain was already planning what to do should either of these beings turned up again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author Note**

I took a break from this story, and now I all refreshed and ready to write some more chapters. My plan to avoid getting bored with anyone story is just to write updates when I please for what story I please. Should mean more posted chapters from now on. Assuming of course that life allowes me the time.

Also this chapter is not meant to put women down in anyway. Really it's just about some of the women Gothic knows, and how they seem to want to drive him crazy. Of course they don't it's just that sometimes relationships between different genders, be that friendship or otherwise, can led to both happiness and sadness.

Reviews

Gordaime

I'm glad to see my hard work is appreciated. 'Don't Blink' is that a subtle way of suggesting putting Weeping Angels in this story?

Joe Lawyer

Given that the Traveller is a very powerful cosmic horror whose been locked away for centuries and then infected by humanity, he's not exactly mentally stable. Also you are wise not to assume that the Traveller just exposed a weakness. That may have all been a performance.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Women **

**Rooftops – Gotham – November 2002 **

"The night is dark and full of terrors. The mean streets of Gotham city are not safe for..."

"_Everything alright out there Shadow?"_

The voice made me jump a little, which could of ended badly as I was sitting on the edge of rooftop and this was a very tall building.

"Seems peaceful enough" I told Batgirl, who was monitoring the city from the Batcave "unless there's something happening I should know about".

Okay so the night was dark, but it was sometimes full of terrors. I just happened to be here on a dull night.

"_Nothing's going on" _said Barbara Gordon over the radio_ "I was just worried that you were going crazy from the cold. It's freezing out there and you've been talking to yourself"_

Gotham in November was not exactly a warm place. I was starting to miss Jump City really badly. On the other hand it was so cold that the muggers were in staying indoors. Even I felt chilly and I had demonic fire powers to call upon, which meant I could literally make things hot as hell.

"Does everyone listen on me when I'm in Gotham?" I asked.

I had the mental image of the Batclan sitting around the Batcomputer laughing their heads off while listening of audio recordings of me making a prat out of myself. But that might just be paranoia.

"_Kara wants me to keeps tabs on you" _Batgirl explained_ "she's worried about you being out all alone"._

Aww that was sweet of her.

"I'm immortal it'll take more than sub zero temperatures to harm me" I assured even as it started snowing again.

"_She more worried about you ending up in bed with some hussy" _said the voice over the airwaves.

"I wouldn't cheat on her" I replied, with a little anger in my voice.

What a horrible thing to suggest.

"_She knows that" _Batgirl said_ "you're pretty much perfect according to her. You don't even leave the seat up and you pick up your own smelly socks. Oh and the sex is pretty amazing from what I gather, if she wasn't Supergirl I think she'd have trouble walking by now". _

Women and their gossip. Only such talk could make me feel totally humiliated and yet so very proud of myself at the same time.

"_So aside from not being able to marry her when she decides it's time, in her eyes you're the best boyfriend ever" _added the police commissioner's daughter.

"Wait a second, what do you mean by: When she decides it time?" I asked "how does she plan to make me get down on one knee. It's up to me to chose when I buy the ring, she can't just make that happen?".

What I heard over the comm device was some laughter and then.

"_Oh Gothic, you poor man. You poor, poor, silly, silly man. You really have no idea do you? She's got you right where she wants you, and you don't even know what's going on"._

My idea about a female conspiracy was perhaps not as crazy as it sounded. By the sound of things Kara was keeping Barbara well informed about how things were going between us and Barbara was no doubt telling my girlfriend all about things were going with her and Richard Grayson. I'd be willing to bet that they weekly meetings as well. I could picture them enjoying foam cover coffees while they compared notes.

"_You don't have a way out, so just sit back and enjoy the ride" _Batgirl advised between fits of giggles

I found myself wondering when all the women I cared about had stopped being the wonderful people I'd thought they were and had become evil schemers, who wanted to control my life and/or drive me crazy. At least Raven had only abandon me. I was completely helpless to fight it as well, as I actually wouldn't mind being married to Kara.

"No wonder we're losing the battle of the sexes" I muttered very softly.

_"Anyway it's not cheating that's worrying her" _Barbara Gordon clarified once she'd calmed down _"Tali al Ghul, is still in town"._

Now Kara's concerns made sense. Given what Tali had done during our first meeting it was understandable why my girlfriend would be worried about me being in the same city as her. And even without the date-rape issue it wouldn't really be cheating as Tali was technically my fiancé. Which meant Kara was actually the other woman. If those two ever met there would be a chick fight, no doubt about it. Sadly it wouldn't be the fun kind you get along with torn clothes and hair pulling.

I would have taken the time to imagine one of the fun kinds of girl on girl action, but that was when a call for help reached my ears, so I said.

"Signing off. Someone needs me".

For once I remembered to turn off the radio. I then fired a grappling hook and leapt off the roof. A second or two later I was at scene, and I saw a lone woman being forced down into a dead end by two generic thugs.

"Give us your purse, lady" a crook with a small knife ordered.

Standard mugging then. No big deal I'd have them knocked out and dumped in the nearby skip within the next ten seconds.

I threw a smoke bomb and then jumped into the smoke. I didn't even need to see what it was I was doing, but it helped that I could make out faint outlines. I grabbed the heads of the two crooks and slammed their heads together hard enough to make sure they wouldn't be getting up again for a while.

"There's nothing to fear..." I started to say

"Oh there's a lot to fear" said a male voice "take me for example".

I turned to see the Joker, and for the first time all night I felt just how cold it actually was.

That what was when something hit me in the back of the head, and I heard the Joker say.

"And fade to black".

**(Line Break)**

**Joker's Hideout – Gotham – November 2002 **

When I woke up everything hurt and it was really dark. Also I was afraid, because the last thing I remembered was seeing the Joker. The bleached face and purple suit ensured that he couldn't be mistaken for anyone else. If that wasn't bad enough I was dangling from the celling, the weight of my body was making my arms sore.

Ignoring the pain and the fear I forced myself to focus on something other than the fact that I was likely going to be tortured sometime soon. Having been tortured by Slade Wilson I had every reason to fear repeating the experience, so I had to get away from, wherever the hell this was.

Looking around I noticed that it was dark, but not so dark that I couldn't figure out where I was. I could hear water gently moving and the air had a hint of salt in it. However I was indoors, so that ruled out the sea. Also it was warmer here which suggested that this place had heating of some sort. The biggest clue was the diving board. It was at just the right height so that someone standing on it would be able to met me eye to eye.

This was confirmed moments later when someone came into view.

"Harley" I greeted, trying to sound like we old pals "why is it that every time I see you I end up either tied up and in danger, or just in danger. I don't think we're the good friends that we should be".

I no longer had my mask on, so she knew who I was. Which meant that there was no point pretending I was someone else.

"Sorry, stud" she apologised "I didn't know that you were Shadowflight".

"Ah yes so Emo-boy is Shadowkite" said the Joker over the PA system "I guess Bird Boy must of introduced you to old Basty. Well it doesn't matter really. The plan hasn't changed".

Shadowkite? That was the best nick name he could come up with. The clown must be getting old.

"Plan?" I inquired of Quinn once I was sure that the Clown Prince of Crime wasn't going to bother to explain "What is his scheme now?"

"Actually it was my plan" Harely told me, sounding rather pleased with herself "you see Bats has been busy for a while, and he hasn't been paying Mr Jay much attention. Which really upset my sweetie, so I got the idea of grabbing someone Batbreathe cares about. That way he's sure to come swooping into save the day. Just like he use to do for the Boy Blunder. Ah memories".

I was terribly disappointed. I'd been abducted for the sake of nostalgia. This was simply embarrassing.

"Really. That's your plan?" I asked "you lured me into a trap because you want attention from Batman. That is truly pitiful, Harley".

Her reply came in the form of slap supplied by her gloved hand. Which hurt enough to make me wonder if she in fact a low level meta-human. It would explain a lot, she was very nimble.

"You men are all the same" Harley complained "Always putting me down. Telling me I'm useless".

I would have felt guilty, if not for the fact that it was her fault I was the hostage of mad man.

"I'm not the problem" I argued "you women are all nuts!".

The second slap hurt even more. She was really offended by my words. More than she should have been really. Something else had to be behind her attitude.

"Oh let me guess" I said while trying to make myself sound less hostile "Joker's been taking out his frustrations on you. Hasn't he? Come on you can tell me. Did he hit you?"

The make-up and outfit she wore hid any bruises she might have, but as soon as I said 'hit' she reached up and touched her own cheek. Which told me all I needed to know. He had hit her, but she couldn't say anything because Joker was listening in. However he might not be able to see us.

I also got angry. Joker was a real sick bastard. I wasn't exactly happy with the women in my life right now, but I'd never slap one of them around. I might not be the nicest guy on the planet, but I was not misogynistic git.

"Harley!" the Joker called over the PA system "get in here. We have work to do".

It hurt a little when I saw Quinn flinch due to the tone of voice the clown used. She was a bad person, but she didn't deserve to be treated so badly. Yet she turned to leave because '_The heart wants, what the heart wants_. _Even that which is worst for it_.' I honestly couldn't say which of us was worse off right now.

Well actually I knew it was her, because I was getting the hell out of here. No way I was going to stick around here. Nope, no torture for me. I wasn't a coward, but I knew how dangerous the Joker was, so it was time to leave.

"Don't fall in the water" I heard Harley say as she moved out of view.

Upon hearing that I looked down and muttered the words of a spell. The darkness below didn't vanish, but I became aware that swimming pool was full of fish. Given that this was the Joker's hideout then it was a fair bet that they weren't Koi Carp. There were also two men walking around the edge of the pool. Which made me wish I had telekinetic powers because that would allow me to push them in. The League had a very strict no killing people rule, but accidents did happen.

I then considered summoning up a baby Old One, but I wasn't sure it was a good idea. Letting abominations into this universe was unwise, because they might try getting it without an invite at some point. Also there was the fact that my spells came from something even more dangerous so I was not longer confident in using them. On the other hand I didn't want to spend any more time here. I was is danger, so the risk was worth taking.

After that I spent a moment or two to decide if I should kill the Joker or not, but I chose to simply flee like mad and then go home to my girlfriend's awesome boobs. Because while I'd never admit this outloud I really wanted a cuddle, and her breasts made great pillows. Besides he'd only end up escaping anyway or Batman would stop me.

So escape it was.

A plan quickly formulated in my mind.

Step 1. Summon.

Muttering the magic words I brought fourth the larvae form of an Old One, as hoped it distracted the thugs. They opened fire with their machine guns, but they didn't have the firepower needed to slay what was pretty much a baby Elder god.

Step 2. Swing.

While the horrible abomination below was dealing with the crooks. I lifted my legs so that I could kick away from the diving bored. I had to do this a few time to really get moving, and when I did I used another spell. This one weakened the chain.

Step 3. Break.

As hoped the chains snapped as I used all my strength to free myself, and in a move that just had to look really cool I somersaulted in such a way that I landed on the board. Which shook under my weight, but I just aboutmanaged to not fall off.

Step 4. Escape.

Not wanting to push my luck I didn't delay. I made my next move. Which involved jumping rather than climbing down, but I knew how to roll the right way and my suit helped to cushion the impact. Then I went right for the window, and smashed through it.

Step 5. Run

Which was exactly what I did I ran, and I ran. I didn't have my radio, or any other way of calling for help. But when I stopped to catch my breathe I then realised that I didn't actually need to keep running. I knew where to go. The Batcave.

(Line Break)

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

It had taken hours but finally I had gotten home. I'd had to fill out a very long report, and then I'd been questioned about my escape methods. Then Batman had 'questioned' me. I'd call in an integration, however when things concerned the Joker it was expected that the Dark Knight wouldn't just let things go. He wanted all of the facts.

By the end I'd wanted to quit. I didn't need all this hassle, and I was pretty sure that no one else's methods of crime fighting were getting picked over to such a decree. I deserved better. I'd be the leader of my own team not that long ago.

The only reason I didn't give up on the hero life right there and then was because I'd made a promise to Starfire. Plus leaving the Justice League wasn't the sort of thing you should do without at least telling your girlfriend about it first. Not if you wanted boob action.

Also if I was honest with myself I didn't actually want to give up the life. Really it was meaningful the things I did. Tonight had just been a bad day at work that was all. As for the third degree I'd gotten. Well it might help if I actually earned some respect rather than just to expect it. That or I could make my own team again.

A little dangerous what with Cadmus, but the current state of affairs wouldn't last and it was something to think about at least. Going back to being part of a semi-independent group would be nice, and I could fund a small team.

Since I hadn't been thinking about where I'd been going I ended up walking into the kitchen, possibly because I was hungry, and what I found there made a bad night worse.

Kara, Fire and Ace were standing next a hole that had been a wall of my house. In fact there was another hole as well. One that led into the garage via the laundry room. Well it wasn't really a room, but the washer and dryer were in, so it was a good a name as any.

However where the holes were wasn't at all important.

"What the fuck!"

My cursing drew the attention of all three girls, who had until this point been busy arguing with each other. They hadn't even noticed that I'd entered the room.

"Where have you been?" Kara demanded to know.

Amazingly she managed to look intimating while wearing a pink fluffy bathrobe and equally pink fluffy bunny rabbit slippers. It had to be a super power of some sort.

"You were suppose to be back hours ago" she then said "Why didn't you call me?"

I'd been about to say something along the lines of: I got tied up at work, but this was no time for humour.

"Where have I been" I said back "Why didn't you call me? No I think the real question here is: What the hell happened to my house?".

Blackfire, who along with Ace was also dressed for bed, tried to explain.

"I did that, but only because Kara pushed me".

That sounded like the excuse of a five year old. Not a memeber of the Justice League.

"What?" was all I could say.

"Kara pushed Fire into that wall" Ace informed me.

Yes I could see the impression she'd left. Kara must have pushed hard. Which was worrying because she could of killed Blackfire.

"So then Fire blasted her, but she missed" Ace finished.

"Okay" I said, before turning to my girlfriend so I could ask "Why did you push Fire into the wall?".

"Because she..."

It took about thirty seconds to get an answer.

"Because she's seems to think that this is her house" the telepathic meta-human supplied "and that started a fight".

"This is my house!" Kara argued, before changing tracks and turning to me "I mean it's my home. It's your house".

"So let me great this straight" I said, directing my words at my girlfriend "You and Fire had an argument, and that led to fight".

That part I got, but it didn't explain everything.

"If that's so, then why does Ace look as guilty as sin right now?".

She might be empathic, but that didn't she mean was any good at stopping other people from knowing how she felt.

"I started the fight" the teen confessed "I told Kara that she couldn't tell me to go to bed because I don't have to listen to her".

Lord save me from sixteen year old girls.

"I'm suppose to be your sidekick" Ace then said "that means no one else is allowed to tell me what do".

Upon hearing that I decided that the whole sidekick thing could wait until after Christmas. Clearly she didn't understand what being the crime fighting partner of a member of the Justice League would actually involve. She'd need more training that I alone could provide. But those concerns could wait for another time.

"And that all resulted in my home being damaged" I summarised.

Sometimes you just had to ask yourself: Are women really worth it? But on the other hand few females had actually tried to kill me, so maybe I was being overly harsh.

"Yeah" said Blackfire "Just because me and Ace don't pay rent doesn't mean that we should be bossed around".

By now I was starting to see the bigger issue here. Kara was trying to run the household, which was fine, but she wasn't anyone's mother. Fire and Ace didn't want to be treated like kids. This needed to be dealt with, but that could wait too because I just wanted to go bed. Besides the hole wasn't really that bad so it could be dealt with once I woke up.

"I'm going to bed" I told the girls "assuming my bedroom still exists".

"Your rooms fine" Kara said "but your bike has been... damaged".

I looked into the garage and saw the most horrible site ever. The Gothbike was slag.

"You killed my bike!" I yelled out.

"Its all my fault" said Kara "I shouldn't of lost my temper".

"I'm really sorry" apologised Fire

"Me too" added Ace "I'm sorry".

This was like coming home and finding out your family dog was dead. It was terrible.

"You can get a new bike" said Kara.

"No I can't" I told her "there was alien tech in bike. It was all custom made by Cyborg. It was totally unique".

It had been no mere motorcycle, it had been a work of art. Doubly so with the cool paint job Nightwing had done.

"We really need to stop fighting" Blackfire commented "it's getting out of hand".

"This has happened before?" I asked of them all.

"Well I did kick a door down" admitted my alien honey "and Ace...".

"I broke your computer" the telepathic meta-human confessed.

Surprisingly I cared about none of that. I only cared that my beloved flying bike was now in pieces and partly melted.

Then I realised that this was all getting out of hand. Clearly you couldn't have three super powered teenage girls who all liked one guy, living under the same roof. Either I'd have to kick someone out, or I'd have to impose some sort of order upon the household.

I decided to try option two since option one was rather drastic. But if the first choice failed that would be my only recourse.

"Go to bed all of you" I ordered.

Naturally all three of them protested and they all tried to blame each other.

"Now!" I said firmly.

Thankfully it worked. They all went upstairs, and at least had the decency to look ashamed with themselves.

As for me I went into the living room. Collapsed on the sofa and tried not to cry over the tragic fate of my beloved flying motorcycle.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author Notes**

In the following chapters we get another look at the future. It isn't the exactly the same future we saw in 'Why I Hate Time Travel' because that time line was erased. However things are somewhat the same.

I changed the dates a little so that Terry McGuinness becomes the Batman in 2042 at the age of eighteen. Which is 10 years after Batman retires for the second time.

The reason for is that I plan to fit the Dark Knight Returns into this time line. It will be set in 2022's and will end differently as it's in the future and the Joker dies in 2010. Superman still gets his ass kicked by Batman, but this doesn't result in Wayne Manor being destroyed.

Arella is born in 2030, and grows up in Wayne Manor as Bruce Wayne's god-daughter and ward. Raven can't be a full time Mum due to being a handmaiden of a goddess and Gothic is cursed with an interesting life so its not safe for him to be a full time Dad. Which isn't to say they aren't around it's just that Arella doesn't see them as much as she would like.

Also at this point of time the Justice League has been reformed with Superman in charge, but it's a smaller group now, less than ten full time members, and Arella has been a part of the team for a year or so. Raven is a part time member and Gothic has his own team who aren't anti-heroes exactly, but they have their own methods and goals.

Anyway it's not really about Arella anyway she's just one of the important women in Gothic's life and she in DC Gothic Teen Titans so another apperence seemed like a good idea. Mostly she just turns up to try and change the future. Which might seem very selfish, but given who her parents are she was bound to do something insane.

Reviews

ImaRussian

Yes he will. Which is part of what these parts of the story has been about. Gothic needed pushing into being 'the man' so he can handle the harem he gets later.

Gordaime

I know Harley is like those women you hear about with abusive partners. She keeps going back to him, and you can't help but want to try and save her. Which Gothic does during his time as Dark Angel.

No Weeping Angels then. Thankfully I have other ideas for surprise crossovers.

Joe Lawyer

Gothic is scared of the Joker so running away is natural. Also why would he freeze the pool? the whole point of summoning the monster was to serve as a distraction.

She already is working on something.

Kara can't help Gothic with his powers. She's not human, she has no understanding of magic and her knowledge of science is so far ahead of his that it would years for Gothic just to learn the basics.

Besides he's not motivated to learn more right now. Although he will be soon. Kara leaves very soon and then Gothic will have time to learn new things.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Women II **

**The Batcave – Gotham – November 2052**

Twenty-two year old Arella Wayne had for the last ten minutes or so, been supporting the entire weight of her body with just one hand. She hadn't been still the entire time as she'd swapped hands every thirty seconds. What made the feat impressive was that Arella hadn't touched the ground with anything other than one of hands.

Arella's dark hair just about touched the floor as the balance beam was half a meter off the ground, and her nimble legs were pointing straight up to the roof of the Batcave. Her body was covered in a synthetic material that was a shade of dark purple.

Anyone watching would note that she was a first class gymnast, and very strong despite her petite form. Arella had even inherited her mother's talent for magic as well as her father's skill for kicking ass with any weapon a person could use.

Even at her young age she was considered to be a powerful woman, and one of the world's greatest heroes. She even had Batman as a boyfriend. Not the first Batman of course as her Uncle Bruce was in his eighties, she had a thing for older men, but not that old. No her romantic partner was Terry McGuinness. So all things considered, she should be a happy person. But she was not.

"He's not coming for Thanksgiving is he?" Arella asked of the man in the shadows.

She knew exactly who was there. She couldn't see her godfather, however she could sense his presence and judging by his emotional state he had bad news to share.

"No" said Bruce Wayne "your mother will be here, but your father is busy on Mars".

Well he was actually on one of the moons of Mars, but Bruce had no idea why the immortal was there and all contact had been lost with both of the planet's moons over a day ago. No doubt there was something major going on, but he had no intention of worrying his god-daughter.

Arella rolled forward and got to her feet.

"Same old story" she said as he headed to the stairs.

Her father was never around when she really needed him to be, and he wasn't in the Justice League either, and they could really use his help. The world was no safer now than it had been fifty years ago and the League was a lot smaller than it use to be.

"Where are you going?" the original Batman inquired.

"Out" was all Shadow Witch in reply.

Bruce was about to go after his young ward when his wife called out to him.

"Let her go beloved. She will need time to calm down" advised Talia Wayne.

Arella would indeed need some time to calm down, about fifty years of worth of time in fact.

**(Line Break)**

**Streets – Jump City – November 2002**

"I will break you, little girl" threatened the masked Mexican wrestler.

"Ooh, no what will I do" mocked Blackfire "I'm shaking in my boots. See me shaking? In my new boots".

Bane actually took a moment to study the exiled princess, but that was exactly what Blackfire had wanted as it distracted the villain for a few seconds. Well that and to show off the new shoes she had just brought

"Leave her alone" said a male voice.

Bane turned to see one of the thugs he'd hired hit the ground as the immortal made a dramatic entrance.

"I was weakened when last we fought, boy" Bane sneered. "I will not lose this time".

"What? Do you want me to break your jaw again?" Gothic taunted while shifting into a fighting stance. "Well, c'mon, then big guy. Let's party".

Bane charged Gothic, but the immortal simply moved out of the way of the blow and then struck the masked wrestler in the back.

"I love this part" said Blackfire with sigh of happiness.

She was very much looking forward to the show, but sadly for her a blur shot past and hit Bane so hard that the crook was sent flying into someone's car. Half a second later fighter's Venom pumped had been pulled out and a few seconds after that Bane had a parking meter wrapped around his arms.

"Oh Kara" muttered the princess.

Blackfire had been looking forward to watching Gothic beat up Bane again, but Supergirl had put an end to the fight before it really got going. It was very unsatisfying and Fire knew that Kara hadn't done her boyfriend any favours by ending the fight for him.

"Well that was extremely emasculating" complained Gothic.

Fire had to agree with that. She could of blasted Bane herself, but she'd wanted the immortal to win the day. Clearly Kara did not understand that you were suppose to let the man in your life do at least some of the work.

"Sorry honey" the kryptonian said to her boyfriend "but you're going to be late for your appointment"

"Damn therapy" Gothic almost growled.

**Therapist's Office - Jump City - November 2002 **

"And why do I need to look at inkblots?" I asked of my therapist as she as loaded up the computer program.

"The inkblot test, or the "Rorschach" test to give its proper name, is a method of psychological evaluation. Psychologists like myself use this test to attempt to examine the personality characteristics and emotional functioning of our patients. We also use this test in to diagnose underlying disorders and to differentiate psychotic and non-psychotic thinking" the doctor explained.

That sounded like she'd memorised the information from a text book. Which she may very well have.

"So you want to see if I'm insane or not" I said.

"Not exactly" the therapist told me "Now during the test you will be shown a series of ink blot images. All you have to do is look at each ink blot for a moment and tell me what you see. But you have to try and see something. At the end of the test your responses will be analysed, and that will give a better understanding of your thought processes".

"And that will tell you if I'm insane?" I inquired.

That made the mind doctor smile. Which made her face wrinkle in a sort grandmotherly way.

"It's only a test, and you aren't a normal human being anyway so I wouldn't be too concerned about the results. The reason I'm using it is because some people, especially men, have trouble expressing their feelings. You for example deflect issues with humour, so just talking to you isn't enough. I need more insight before I can help you to get to grips with any problems you have. My hope is that this test will guide me".

Well that sounded pretty harmless actually.

"Okay then. Hit me" I said.

The test started and I was shown the first image.

"A women with wings" I decided after a while.

It didn't really look anything, but there was no option for that and you had to give some sort of answer in an ink blot test, so I gave the best I could.

"And this one"

"A mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion".

It also looked a little like to very oddly shaped men giving each other a high five, but I went with what I saw first.

"What about this".

"Two people trying to lift something " was the best I could do.

"And this"

"Errr... a female sex organ"

It really did remind me of a vagina.

"And this"

This was one was pretty straightforward.

"An upside down bat" I said.

"And this"

"Vagina... sorry but it does"

I seemed to have sex on the brain. Although it may have had to do with the fact that I normally got to have sex every day, and I hadn't yesterday so it could just be that.

"And this"

The next one looked like nothing at all. But nothing wasn't an acceptable answer so I gave it a good long stare.

"Two animals climbing... something" was the only thing that came close.

It did sort of look like that.

"And this".

"Err I have to say... pretty much what you'd see if a women had spread her legs to give you a look".

I really did think about sex way too much. There had to be something wrong with me. I was sure I hadn't been this obsessed with female anatomy the last time I'd been eighteen years old.

"Last one" said the therapist.

I gave the last image an intense stare.

"Lots of creatures running away from me"

When the machine loaded up the results I read the information on the screen.

"Hey that says this program is for entertainment and study only" I said "not for clinical diagnoses"

"I never said it was" the woman reminded "it's just to help me understand you a little better".

I should of known that and as for the doctor, well she did have a Ph.D. In psychology, so she should know what she was doing.

"Well you failed if you wondering, but given what you've been through it's not remotely surprising, and this test is very much out of date. However it did give me a few insights. I do have a follow up questions if you're willing to indulge me".

"I can't promise I'll answer, but I also promise I won't lie" I said as I laid down on the couch.

Which was fair as I knew a lot of things no one should know about. Secret identities and such.

"How's your love life?" the woman asked me "has anything changed recently?"

Given that I'd kept seeing vaginas in the ink blot tests this question was one I had expected.

"Great" I answered, but then I reminded myself that it hadn't been more recently

"Well not really great" I corrected "I mean I told you about the girl who abandoned me, but the other women in my life really upset me just yesterday".

"How?" was the follow up question.

"She got into an argument and in the process the girls I live with managed to kill my bike".

By now the doctor was taking notes.

"Why did you say 'kill'?" she then asked.

I had said killed last night as well. That clearly meant something.

"Well it was my bike" I tried to explain "it was custom made. Totally unique and now it's gone. It was like losing a pet. It's silly..."

"No it isn't" corrected my therapist "it's perfectly fine to become emotionally invested in objects. Especially if that object was special. You said it was custom, so who made it?"

"A friend" was the answer I gave "someone I used to live with".

Cy and I weren't that close, but the effort he'd put into building and then modifying the Gothbike made it destruction all the more tragic.

"It was a gift" the therapist said "and it connected you to your past. You told me that everyone you knew when you first arrived in this world has moved on. So to me it seems that losing that bike reminded you of that".

I didn't think that, but I could see why someone else would.

"For me that bike was like a symbol of freedom" I explained "as long as I had it I could just go where ever I wanted when ever I wanted".

"And now you feel trapped?" the woman asked of me.

Sometimes I did feel caught in a role that I didn't want to play, so yeah maybe that was part of the reason why I'd gotten so upset. Although the big holes in my walls had been a big shock too.

"A little" was all I was willing to say.

The doctor seemed to sense that I wasn't willing to discuss that aspect of my life, so she asked something else.

"How did you deal with the situation?"

"I sent them all to bed" I answered honestly.

Well it had been very late.

"And they did what you told them to?" was the next question.

"Well I had to be firm about it first, but after that yeah" I responded.

"I see" was what the women said next.

She paused for a while as if sorting out her thoughts.

"Do you ever wonder if the women in your life want you to take charge".

By now she'd picked up on the fact that I was the Dad of my messed up little family.

"Sometimes" I admitted "but I don't know if I could".

"Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions" I commented.

"You avoid answering them" she countered.

I sighed and then tried to answer the question.

"They're very powerful women" I finally said "it doesn't seem right that I should be able to boss them around".

Would be damn hot. But it did seem wrong to me. I just didn't know if I could take myself seriously if I tried take control.

"Did you know that most men who visit a dominatrix are very important businessmen".

"No" I said "how do you know that?"

"It's my job to know" she informed me.

That or she'd performed the job to pay her way through medical school. She did have a voice for it, that was for sure.

"So powerful people want to be made to feel powerless" I reasoned.

It kind of made sense. Kara did like to feel powerless during sex. But I'd always assumed that was about feeling feminine and delicate. She'd admitted it in fact. She liked me being stronger than her in bed. Although the power thing could be part of that as well. Maybe she didn't even realise that. Although she was very smart, so it could be her simply wanting to feel like a vunrable girl rather than someone who was bullet proof.

"Maybe the reason why they seem to be trying to drive you crazy is because they want you to make them stop acting out".

That could be it. Perhaps I could start putting my foot down more often.

"So you think they're trying to see how far they can push me before I make them behave" I questioned.

"From what you've told me in our past sessions I'd say that they do, but this isn't about them. It's about you. I'm concerned that you spend to much time worrying about how others perceive you. This is holding you back in many ways. It's good that you worry about your actions as a hero, as lives do depend on you. But your home life shouldn't be so stressful. If you don't think you can cope then you need to change how you live your life".

I had considered asking Blackfire to move out, as that might calm things down. But I didn't want her to leave because while I didn't love her I was fond of her. Plus she seemed to understand Ace more than I did, so if she left that would make the telepathic meta-human harder to handle.

"So I need to start thinking of myself as worthy of being the one in charge" I said mostly to myself.

"You're self esteem is surprising low considering who it is your dating. Most men would consider it a huge ego boost".

I didn't tend to think of Kara as Supergirl. Which was a good thing as no girl wants their boyfriend to love the person they pretend to be rather than who they are.

"And then there's the power issue. You're no push over yourself. I've studied your files. You've defeated Supergirl one of the women who you think of as being vastly superior to yourself".

True and granted I'd used trickery, but that didn't really diminish the fact that I had taken her down so easily. And Ace was pretty much powerless against me. I didn't like the idea that I could hurt the people I loved, but it was silly of me to think that I couldn't at least tell them not to do things that made me uncomfortable.

"But I don't want to be abusive" I pointed out "I shouldn't even think about hurting them in anyway".

"Discipline isn't abuse" argued the woman "it's not just children who act up to get attention. Yes it's possible to cross that line, but it might be worse if you do nothing because you've already started. And just think on this: if they did feel abused in anyway. Would they simply put up with that sort of treatment or would they do something about it?".

Given what I knew about Kara I could honestly say that she wouldn't put up with that sort of thing. She was not like Harley Quinn. Kara had stood up to her own cousin, and made him back off. Then when Mongul had threatened to rape her she had certainly made him regret saying it.

Blackfire was hardly a push over either. She'd ruled a world and after all. People who just take what life throws at them don't get to be leaders. Ace was a bit more vulnerable, and wouldn't be able to stop me from hurting her but she of all people was the safest because I only wanted to protect her.

Then I realised that Blackfire had pointed that out to me, and it hadn't actually sunk in. No wonder she felt as if she didn't contribute to the household, she'd been trying and I'd never really let her.

"Okay I think I'm done for the day" I told my therapist as I got up and headed for the door "I have to go home and start being a man".


	13. Chapter 13

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Women III**

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002 **

I'd entered the house will the intention of installing some discipline into the lives of the women I lived with, only that never happen because as soon as I got into the living room I got tackled by someone who seemed be even quicker on their feet than I was. However it wasn't Kara.

"Dad!"

I was being hugged by a woman who looked to be older than me but also seemed to think I was her father. It wasn't until she stepped back a few paces that I started to believe what I had just heard. I could see a little of one of my sisters in this girl, and a lot of Raven as well. Her hair was darker but there was a hint of purple, her eyes were mine, but her build and outfit reminded me of my absent partner. Which meant that I didn't need to ask who she'd call Mum.

"You don't look much older in the future" the woman commented "but you're about eighteen if I got my timing right. Which means you're younger than me right now. That is weird".

"Err hi" I said rather lamely, before mustering my heroic courage "you're my daughter?"

"Of course I am" the woman replied "why else would I call you Dad".

Well yeah that was a good point.

"Okay so" I said "What did I name you and should I be sorry for subjecting you to such a name?"

If I was anything like my mother when it came to naming children she'd be lucky to having remotely normal. The only reason I'd grown up with a well used name was because I was named after my grandfather who had died long before I was born.

"I'm Arella Wayne" she answered "and no you didn't name me. My hero name is Shadow Witch or Shadow Bitch depending on who you ask".

Right that made sense. Arella was the name of Raven's mother, so it made sense that she'd give that name to a daughter. Also I was getting a strong deja vu feeling about this. It was like I'd met Arella before.

"Shadow Witch?" I had to ask.

"I have Mom's magical powers, but your fighting skills" she explained "I'm pretty bad ass, if I used that expression right".

Well that answered one question at least.

"What about Wayne?" I asked "Why Wayne. Don't I have a surname in the future?"

Arella made a face that seemed to express something, but I couldn't quite tell what it meant.

"Bruce Wayne is my godfather" my daughter explained "I grew up in Wayne Manor because you and Mum couldn't always be around. I'm hoping to get to changed it to McGuinness soon. If Terry ever pops the question that is".

"Wait hold on. Terry McGuinness?" I inquired "as in Batman Beyond".

Well she could do worse. He'd be an interesting guy to have as a son in law. That was for sure.

"Yeah how do you know that?" Arella asked "he hasn't even been born yet. Is this that otherworldly knowledge thing again. It still drives Uncle Bruce crazy you know".

Batman was Uncle Bruce. He really must of mellowed out in the future.

"But I shouldn't be telling you about the future" Arella then said "I just came back to see you. I can't stay long because of the damage to the time lines. I really shouldn't of come here at all, but I had to tell you that you need to join the Justice League".

Deja vu again. Starfire had asked it of me as well. It seemed to be very important.

"I am in the Justice League" I told her.

Granted I wasn't an important member, but I was in the JL and that was where I needed to be.

"No I mean in the future" corrected Arella as she started to examine some of the electronics in the house "you're going to quit one day, but I need you to rejoin.. for me".

"You travelled...how far?" I said.

"Fifty years" she told me

"You travelled fifty years into the past to tell me that I need to rejoin the Justice League in fifty years" I finished.

"More like forty-five" clarified Arella "I didn't join till the League until about four years ago".

"Wait, wait hold on" I said as I fully grasped what was going on "you time travelled so we could end up being in the Justice League at the same time".

That sounded selfish, stupid and dangerous. I was very disappointed. Exactly like a father would be. 

"I wouldn't have come back this far" Arella said while trying to avoid meeting my eyes "but I know Mum isn't here because she told me what she did while she was away".

That made me change tracks.

"Wait you know where she is" I said.

I hadn't a clue myself. I didn't even know if she was still alive.

"Sure" my yet unborn child told me "Tibet. She's learning from some monks who serve Cosmic Balance".

Now I knew where she was. **Nanda Parbat she'd gone to see Rama Kushna. That place was protected, but I might be able to get in. **

**"But don't worry Mum will be back" Arella assured "and if I were you I'd be more worried about your mistress"**

**"My what?" I asked.**

**"Your mistress. The blonde woman" my daughter explained "You always have one. She knows who I am and it really upset her. She said we'd met but I don't remember ever seeing her before, and that really got her crying. So she went upstairs". **

I almost ran up to Kara's bedroom, but I stopped myself.

"It's okay" Arella said "I have to go now. The longer I stay the more damage there could be to the time line. It's best for me to go before I get tempted to stay longer. I only came back to tell you to rejoin the League in my time. They need someone like you more than ever. You were always willing to do what it takes to win".

From what I knew about the Justice League in the time of Batman Beyond it was a smaller group that was still led by Superman. Maybe the needed more members to help keep the world safe.

"If it's that important to you then in forty-five years from now I'll apply for membership".

I couldn't believe that any child of mine would time travel on a mere whim. There had to be more going on that a daughter missing her father. I could almost sense it like there was something Arella wanted to badly tell me about but that she also couldn't tell me.

She hugged me again and held on for a while before saying.

"I love you Daddy".

Arella then teleported away in a fashion similar to how Raven could and I was left wondering if any of that had just happened. But I'd have to wonder about that later. For now I needed to see to Kara.

I found Kara in her room, judging by the state of the place she been trying to pack up her stuff, but then had stopped which had left the room in a right mess. As for my girlfriend she was lying on her bed with a pillow covering her face. It wasn't hard to guess what she'd been doing.

It took me a moment to decide what to do, but eventually I moved to lie down next to her. Before I could say anything she had wrapped herself around me and was sobbing. All I could do was hold her close and wait for her to calm down.

That took a while, and by the time she was down my t-shirt had a huge damp patch on it.

Kara then started to get up and she wiped her eyes before saying.

"I should finish packing"

"Why are you leaving?" I asked.

I had guessed why but I didn't want to assume that I understood how she felt.

"Because I'm not in your life in the future" Kara explained as she started to fill up some bags "you're married to Raven and have a daughter who doesn't even know who I am. Which means that things don't work out for us. I wanna leave now before Ray gets back and you chose her over me".

I really couldn't see that happening. There was only one reason why Kara wouldn't be around in the future.

"Or maybe I die" Kara then said "and you just never told your kid about me cause it hurts too much. Well I don't want that to happen so it's better if I leave now".

She never got that far as he started crying again so I knew I had to tell her the secret I'd been hiding. I'd always hoped that I would never have to tell her about her future but now seemed to the last chance I would get.

"Kara, I know why you're not around in fifty years".

"Did Arella tell you why?" she questioned "did she just not recognise me because I look younger?"

"No this is something only I know" I said keeping my voice soft "you should sit down".

When she did I explained as best I could about what happened in the cartoon series. This took a while.

"I'd never just abandon you like that!" Kara protested, at least until she realised that she just had been planning to leave "I mean I want... I don't what I mean, but I don't think you'd want to be with me if you hadn't seen me for a thousand years".

"I think it makes sense" I said "in a thousand years I might still be around and there wouldn't be anything in the way of us being together".

"So what" she then said "you'd just wait ten centuries for me".

I gave the matter some thought before saying.

"The only thing we know for certain is that I'm married to Raven fifty years from now and I have a daughter with her. I might end skipping a few centuries or maybe I'll put myself in stasis one day. I'm immortal I don't know what I'll be like in a thousand years. But unless they need to save the galaxy I can't see why you'd stay in future. Maybe future me has no one".

It would be selfish of future me to keep Kara for himself, but if things worked out with Raven then there would be no place for Kara in my life over the next few decades. I had to think about her needs as well. She might be better off with me in the far future. She wanted to be a wife and mother, and I could give that to her then it would be better to let her go.

"I...I...I" was all Kara could say.

She then went to the window and opened it.

"I need some time to think"

With that she jumped and for a horrible second I forgot she could fly. But when I got to the window I saw her in the distance. She was heading north so I knew exactly where she was going.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002 **

I hadn't left my room for well over an hour by now. I'd been sitting her trying to process everything that had happened to day. After all it's not everyday that your yet unborn daughter pops back in time and wreaks your relationships with your girlfriend. I really hoped that future me would at least scold her for what she'd done.

At about 10.30 pm I heard someone moving about the house and seconds later my bedroom door opened. It was Kara and by the looks of things she was in a better mood. She was also wearing her tightest pair of leather pants, which were always a delight to see. When she took of her jacket I could see that she was wearing her white Supergirl top.

"How are you?" I asked my girlfriend came and lied down next to me.

She didn't answer right away. Instead she moved to rest her head on my chest, and then she moved my arm so that I was holding her.

"I feel better" she said "I had a lot to think about".

"That I guessed" I told her.

Again she was silent for a while, but not for too long.

"My 21st birthday" she finally said "a year from next week"

It sounded like a long time, but it wasn't long enough.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to stay with you for as long as I can" she said to me "but if I do go then I don't want you to wait for me. Live your life. Marry Raven, have children. Do whatever you want. Just remember that I'm always yours. So you better be there in the future, and you better be single buster. Cause we're going to get married and have children. If you have a thousand years to sort things out then I want a nice big house, a really expensive wedding, a great honeymoon oh and I want at least three children. And a cat. I hate dogs they always growl at me".

What an odd list of demands. I'd half expected her to say 'or else'.

"Yes Ma'am" I said with a grin.

It was an odd way of handling the situation but it was better than her leaving because that would really mess me up.

"Then I'll be totally yours" she told me while running a hand up my chest "and I am now too, so I need to be punished for my bad behaviour".

"You're not the one who destroyed my walls and my bike" I pointed out.

"Yeah well. Blackfire needs a spanking too, but that can wait. I need you more right now, and be the man would you".

"Huh?" I sort of grunted.

"I'm not human you know that" she reminded while giving me an intense look "I didn't grow up like you did and Ace didn't have parents at all she doesn't know how to behave like an adult sometimes. And as for Blackfire well she only cares about you and Ace. No one else matters to her".

I wasn't oblivious to the fact that Fire didn't like Kara that much. But one out of control argument didn't mean she was out to get my girlfriend. Plus I knew for a fact that Komand'r did good work with the League. She'd already saved dozens of lives during disaster relief efforts.

"She did try to hurt me. If I'd been someone else I could have been killed"

That was true. If Kara had been human she would of died, and all I'd done about it was send everyone to bed. Sure it hadn't been an unprovoked attack, but that didn't change the fact that they both could of badly hurt each other, or even done worse.

"Maybe I should ask her to leave" I said mostly to myself.

"No, that's not a good idea" argued my romantic partner "I mean it is up to you, but I think if you told her leave you'd be cutting her off from the two people she loves. That would be cruel and she might end up leaving Earth, then she'd be arrested".

So I could end up putting her on the path to being a villain when she had the chance to be someone more worth while. I couldn't let that happen.

"I'll take charge" I decided "any bad behaviour will be punished".

That seemed to make Kara very happy as she started to passionately kiss me. Thankfully she calmed down before we went too far.

"Someone's in the mood to _zhaol_"

"Z_hi" _my girlfriend said "_jahghah kh__a__p_"

I got the jest of that at least.

"_Kulahn vav_ English"

"You're getting good" Kara praised "and I do want you order me about, but could you suckle on me for a while. You haven't done it for a couple of days and I need it bad".

Who could say no to Supergirl's breasts.

"Strip" I ordered as I gave her the radioactive space rock ring.

She kissed me again before obeying, and when she was naked I got to work on her boobs. I lowered my head and licked each of her nipples, one after the other. I then put a nipple into my mouth and started to gently suck, and after that I sucked harder. She of course loved every second of it. I sucked on them both, switching from one to the other. This caused Kara to gasp with delight and she begged me to squeeze them as well. So of course I did.

Doing this didn't always seem to a sexual thing for Kara, but it surely was now because she took one of my hands and placed it between her legs. She was soaking wet.

"Not yet" I said while switching nipples "you need a spanking first".

"_Sokao kolir kh__a__p__" she said forgetting to speak English._

Thankfully I was getting very good with Kryptonese and while

normally I couldn't refuse, she needed me to be in charge and now she was going to have to obey.

"_Zha_" I said.

She actually whined without using any words a lot like a child. Rather than sound silly it was extremely adorable. As for me I just suckled at her tits, drinking that sweet milk. As I fed from her she started caressing her hair as she often did at times like this. But I could tell that she mostly trying to distract herself from the fact that I had a hand on her hot wet pussy, which meant she couldn't touch herself.

"You're so mean" she accused once I took a break from her super-boobs "I'm so horny, and I still want you drink some more from me".

"Hey you wanted me to be in control" I pointed out "and I want to punish you before letting you cum".

"That just makes me want you more" she complained in a way that told me that she really didn't mind that much.

"Go fetch a hairbrush" I ordered.

Kara ran so fast it almost looked as if she still had super speed, but there was no gust of wing to signal that she was just very enthusiastic.

"Gonna spank me hard?" she asked when she got back "I've been so bad".

"Oh you are so asking for it" I warned.

Rather than reply she threw herself over my lap and then moved her hips a little to make her ass a tempting target. So I took the brush and gave her a few whacks.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

I really didn't do much damage, but that wasn't really the point. I just wanted Kara to feel like she'd been punished.

"You need to spank more tomorrow" my girlfriend said once I was done "that made me feel so good".

"It was suppose to hurt" I told her.

That was kinda the whole reason behind corporal punishment.

"It did a little" she assured me "but it makes me feel like more of girl. I need that".

"That's not all you need" I teased as I started to get undressed.

Z_hi" _my girlfriend said again "_jahghah kh__a__p"_

"You really do like being told what to do" I remarked.

"Only by you" she replied.

"Spread your legs" I instructed.

She did just that and soon I was inside her. As ever she was very warm inside and wet too which made it very enjoyable to fuck her. For once I didn't pound her the way she liked. I took it slow and savoured the intimacy. Well for a while anyway we both needed to cum rather badly by now so I ended up being rather rough anyway, but it made us both happy so there was nothing wrong with that.

(Line Break)

**Wayne Manor – Gotham – November 2052**

"Mum!" Arella called as she teleported into Wayne Manor "what are you doing here?"

Raven had the cowl of her cloak covering her face, but when your a magic user and partly telepathic you never fail to sense a family member. Unless he had some really good mental defences.

"You know why I'm here" said Raven "you altered the past. Your fathers now in Justice League, and he's not suppose to be. You've changed everything".

"Good" Arella said "it's where he should be. Dad belongs with us".

"What you did was very risky. You might of prevented your own birth. I should just go back and erase the memory of your visit" threatened Raven.

"Please don't" Arella pleaded.

"It might not be my choice" Raven reminded "I work for a very powerful goddess and she might be very annoyed by what you've done, so your grounded".

"Mom. I'm twenty-two years old" Arella argued "you can't ground me".

"You're grounded" said another voice.

"But Dad" Shadow Witch complained "I was only trying to..."

"Now" said Gothic "I'll talk to you later, at home".

Arella slumped and then teleported to her bedroom.

"You always good at the discipline stuff" Raven praised as she walked over to her husband.

"Well I've had fifty years of practice" the immortal pointed out "now have you been a good girl".

"Maybe" Raven teased "you should spank me just in case".

"I will" Gothic promised "let's go to bed".

With that Raven teleported them to a different home. Leaving their daughter alone to think about what she'd done.


	14. Chapter 14

**Joe Lawyer**

That is the way it works out as you will see in this chapter. Ace and Blackfire are much happier.

I don't think a member of the Justice League would go to such a class. The press would have a field day.

I like my version of Kara a lot. Makes me sad that I have to get rid of her, so that Raven can be the main romantic partner. But Kara does get her happy ending and she deserves one.

Also I might end up doing a Legion of Superheroes story even if its just a short one. So you may get to read more about her.

**Dark0w1**

Ace isn't going anywhere. In fact as she ascends she's the only one who never really leaves Gothic.

I ended up going with a bike like Lobo's. Which means its both a jet bike and a space ship. Gothic never gets the plasma cannon. Lasers are nearly as good.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Fan Service**

**The Fortress of Solitude – The North Pole – November 2002**

Kal El had many years ago named this place the Fortress of Solitude. He had intended for it to be a place for quiet contemplation and relaxation. A place he could go to in order to recharge the batteries.

As time had past the fortress had become more than that. It had its own zoo which was home to species that existed no where else in the universe. There were other rare things within the fortress. The restored Titanic being the most noticeable.

There was even a large room put aside for weapons. Superman rarely used those weapons, but that didn't mean he'd failed to notice when one of them was missing. Especially if it was a plasma cannon.

"Robot Six!" Superman called out.

From around the corner appeared Robot Six.

"Yes, Kal El?" inquired the machine.

"What happened to the plasma cannon?"

Given that the oversized weapon had been resting on a pedestal, its absence was noticeable and since the robots were meant to maintain the displays they had to know what had happened to the device.

"It was requisitioned by Kara Zor El".

That at least explained why he'd not been alerted by the robots. Kara knew the override codes, and had access to everything in the fortress. Of course that didn't mean she suppose to take things out of the Hall of Weapons.

"Did she say what she wanted it for?" Superman questioned.

Any foe fearsome enough to warrant the use of such a heavy weapon was someone Clark should know about. There were so such threats at the moment but it was possible that Kara had encountered a problem that required a great deal of force to solve.

"She only said that she required the device for a project".

Kal then remembered that his cousin had been trying to upgrade the power armour she'd built for her boyfriend. So she had made use of some of the alien technology stored here in the fortress, but a plasma cannon was a little too much firepower for a suit of powered armour. Which meant she either only need a few parts of the weapon or she was building something else. Something very dangerous.

Using his super hearing Clark was able to locate his cousin easily. She kept a room here and there was a workshop nearby that Kara spent some time tinkering about in. Of course the big clue that led him to her location was the music of Black Sabbat being blasted out a sound system. Not that he'd call it music.

Superman slowly walked into the workshop that Kara had set up near her quarters. He didn't announce his presence as there was no need. Even with all the noise she was making Clark knew that his cousin would of sensed his approach. Which was confirmed when Kara turned a dial and reduced the 'music' to a more reasonable volume.

"Hey, Kal" she greeted as she went back to welding the missing plasma cannon onto the front of what some people might call a jet bike.

To be precise it was a SpazFrag666, which was most well known for being the preferred method of transport for the bounty hunter Lobo. Only it looked as if Kara was customizing the bike, and even improving upon the design. Which was highly illegal as by galactic law no one on Earth was even allowed to own a SpazFrag666, because it was illegal to sell them to anyone who lived on a planet that hadn't achieved faster than light travel.

However Earth didn't recognise galactic law, so there was no reason to worry about space lawyers filing a complaint. Although the police might have a problem what with its twin mounted machine guns.

In fact it was a dangerous thing for anyone to own, and Clark had a horrible feeling that Kara was going to all this effort for herself. There was only one person in all the world that she could be doing this for.

"Working on a birthday present?" Kal asked.

Kara didn't answer until after she'd finished attaching the cannon to the bike, by the looks of things she'd decided that the front mounted laser wasn't enough.

"Yeah" the younger alien said "I'm gonna look so hot on the back of this sweet ride".

Clark prayed for the day his cousin would finish her biker chick phase. Teenage rebellion was healthy, but he really hoped it would end when Kara turned twenty. Thankfully that was only days away now. But if it didn't end any time soon at least he had the comfort of knowing that his cousin was unlikely to get killed in a motorcycle accident. Although at the very least she could stop wearing so much leather.

"How did you buy that?" Superman asked.

"I didn't" Kara replied "I used what was left of Goth's bike and some Thanagarin tech I got from Cyborg. It's not a real SpazFrag666 I just wanted it to look like it could be".

Well that made the whole thing a little less worrying.

"Please tell me that you didn't install an FTL drive" Clark asked.

He'd just realised that Kara could actually build a hyperdrive since she knew exactly how the Javelins reached other solar systems. The physics involved wouldn't be that complex to her.

"Of course not" his cousin said sounding rather shocked "like I'd be stupid enough to let my boyfriend get himself lost in deep space".

Clark breathed out a sigh of relief. However it was premature.

"But it's a shield and an oxgyen recycler so it can go into space. It should be able reach the Moon in about thirty seconds" Kara then said "but going to Mars and back would take hours, so he won't be leaving the solar system on my watch".

Superman frowned but kept his thoughts to himself. Humans has reached both the Moon and Mars without the aid of alien technology, so letting Gothic get out that far wasn't too bad. Besides it could be a lot worse since Kara could also program a Mother Box, and therefore create Boom Tubes. So it wouldn't be to hard for her to build a jetbike that could go anywhere in the galaxy. Compared to that a day trip to Mars was really no big deal.

Of course there was still the issue of the excessive fire power.

"And the plasma cannon?" Superman inquired.

Kara paused in her work, and took a moment to prepare herself for a major argument.

"I'm installing a plasma cannon just in case I'm not around during the next invasion. I don't someone I love getting hurt because they can't fly away from the danger or shoot down a space ship. And don't say he won't need to because the Earth's nearly been destroyed by alien invader twice in the last three years, and its alien protectors can't be everywhere at once. So if something happens to me then my boyfriend will have what needs to be able to look after himself".

Clark opened his mouth and then shut it again before finally finding the words he needed.

"Giving people advanced weapons isn't the answer" Kal said "they could hurt themselves just as easily".

"They don't need advanced weapons to do that" counter Kara "they already have nuclear bombs".

"That's true" started the Man of Steel "but..."

"If you don't trust him then why is in the Justice League?" Supergirl suddenly asked.

"Wait" Clark said "What makes you think I don't trust everyone who is in the League?"

"We both know that this isn't about giving a human being some alien technology, because you helped build the Javelins, and they have more firepower than this bike, so it's not about what I'm building it's really about the fact that you don't trust my boyfriend".

"I...he's...unstable" Superman said with a sigh "I trust that he wouldn't hurt you, but I don't trust him not to kill someone who did hurt you".

Clark did not think the immortal was psychotic, it was just that Gothic had killed people and he might do it again. And Clark wasn't completely sure he'd want stop Gothic from killing anyone who hurt Kara.

"So why is he in the Justice League?" Kara asked again "I know you're not telling me something. Which means you don't trust me either".

That was painful to hear, but it was also true. So Clark decided to tell his cousin something she would never be able to tell her partner.

"Do you remember when Toyman sent me to the future?" he began.

"Yeah" said Kara "well I remember the funeral, and then you came back. You got transported to the future, but you found a way home".

"Actually I didn't" Kal informed her "Gothic sent me back".

If it had been possible Kara's jaw would of hit the floor.

"Tell me everything" she demanded.

"Will you take off the plasma cannon?" Superman asked.

Clark didn't like himself for saying that, but it might be worth a little guilt now to save lives later.

"Well I guess he can protect himself with lasers just as well" Supergirl decided.

That was enough of a compromise for now. So Clark told his cousin everything that had happened during his visit to the very distant future.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002 **

"Die, die, die!" Blackfire screamed as she kept pressing the button that caused an awesome weapon of destruction to open fire upon her target.

"I can't believe that you killed me" I complained as the words 'Game Over' flashed across the screen "I'm an expert marksmen and I can't even out shoot you when I'm playing a video game.

It wasn't even a good video game. The graphics were awful.

"Awww" mocked Blackfire "did I emasculate you".

"Not physically thankfully" I said with a slight shudder "that would really hurt".

There were things even an immortal should fear.

"I thought that was castration" remarked Ace as she played with her new laptop "I'm sure I looked that up".

Sometimes I wondered if letting a sixteen year old girl surf the internet unsupervised was such a good thing. I had no desire to stop her from reading what she chose to read, but even in 2002 the internet was full of smut and much worse things. Who knew where she'd picked up that word from. Then again I could always remove her net privileges if she did something bad. Would be a lot easier than having to punish in other ways.

"It can mean that too, but I meant it in the context of being made to feel less of a man emotionally rather than via mutilation" I explained.

"Oh I'd never do that" assured the alien princess "I'm hoping to get to play with it. After Kara leaves of course".

My girlfriend had decided that she should tell Blackfire and Ace about the fact that she was due to disappear into the future. Which was her right, as it was her life, and it my view it was a good thing because now they wouldn't be taken totally by surprise when it did happen.

She didn't want anyone else to know as she worried that someone might try to prevent it from happening. Like say her overprotective and extremely powerful cousin. It would be bad if he did because it would radically change the future.

What my daughter had done was bad enough, but she'd only changed fifty years of history. Changing more than a thousand years of history, by keeping Kara in the present, could be far more dangerous.

"You're forgetting about Raven" I said my friend "if Arella didn't change too much about the future then Ray will be my wife. Which means we will get back together".

Which seemed likely otherwise Arella would have erased herself from history, and since I still remembered her, and Kara had met her before, it seemed that her existence was assured. Then again with time travel things were rarely simply, however the universe wasn't ending due to some massive paradox so I remained hopeful.

I couldn't even hate Ray for leaving me, because if she didn't learn to control her emotions then it would never be safe for us to have a child. She might of lashed out at her own baby if the stress of being a mother ever got too much.

"And I don't think she'll still be in Tibet a year from now" I then added.

Not that I knew any of that for certain, but since I knew that time didn't pass at the same rate within Nanda Parbat, so it was possible that Raven didn't know that she been gone so long. For her it might of only been a few days. Also given how remote the place was it also made sense that she hadn't sent me an email or just called me. They had no phone lines in Nanda Parbat.

"I'm sure I can tempt her into a threesome" said Blackfire "even if it's just a one time deal".

Maybe, but she might be wrong Raven had even worse jealously issues than Kara. Although my fully alien girlfriend had at least eased up on that issue of late. Ray however, well she had put a whole in the roof of the lobby upon meeting Supergirl. So Blackfire's only hope was that Raven really did solve her issues and come back as more controlled person or Ray would end up trapping the alien princess in an alternate dimension.

"You could just get a boyfriend" I pointed out "you're an alien princess any guy would be very lucky to have you as a partner. I know I would be".

Plus she took a spanking really well, and had a butt that you couldn't help staring at. I knew this because I kept sneaking a glance. Fire was wearing one of my t-shirts, and it kept riding up as she was lying on her stomach.

I hadn't beaten her, but I hadn't gone easy on her either due to the fact that she attacked Kara with lethal force, so she had some odd coloured bruises on her backside. Not that she seemed to mind, if anything she was happier than normal. I guessed that was because she didn't feel so guilty for destroying my beloved bike now.

"You're just flattering me so I'll go easy on you when we play again, but that's never going to happen so you can keeping killing Ace for a while. I want to read some of your fan mail".

Upon hearing that the telepathic meta-human swapped places with the alien princess. Which meant the t-shirt she was wearing, which was also one of mine, rode up as she got comfortable. She at least was wearing knickers and they actually covered her ass. Ace seemed to figured out that I was going to put with her making me uncomfortable any more. I didn't mind her showing off her body a little as she was cute, and she seemed more confidant now as well. Which made me realise that I should have been more strict with her right from the start. I'd made the mistake of trying to give her the affection she'd never had, but she also needed a little tough love as well.

"Come on kill me" requested Ace "or I'll be forced to kill you".

"I think our lives are a little too violent" I commented as the game loaded up "we really shouldn't enjoy pretending to kill each other this much".

And all the sexual stuff was a bit much as well.

"It's not our fault" Blackfire argued "we can't even go shopping for Christmas presents without freaks coming after us".

True, and the fact that Bane had come after us was my fault as I was the one he'd been after. Plus it had been my idea to get the presents now in order to avoid doing so after Thanksgiving as I'd heard horror stories about shopping in malls during December. Then there was the fact thatlast year the damn Pigeons had totally ruined Xmas, so if something else happened this holiday season then at least the people I cared about would at least get a gift from me.

"Violence is part our lives" said Ace she blew my video game character apart with a rocket launcher "along with sex, nudity and swearing".

Yeah she was spending way to much time on the net. It was making her too insightful for my liking. Sixteen year old girls should be mooning over pop stars not reading what it was she was reading.

"Die you fucker!" I then shouted as I killed Ace's electronic avatar "just fucking die!".

"Case in point" my hopeful sidekick said.

"Okay point taken" I replied "I really shouldn't judge".

I was the worst of them all.

"How many fans do you have?" Blackfire suddenly asked "and why do send you underwear?"

Ace and I both turned our heads to see that our friend had opened one of the boxes of fan mail, and that she had also started reading a few letters. She also had something lacy in one of her hands.

"I have no idea" I told her.

There was also the fact that I didn't want to know. It was a little scary. I had the horrible idea that some of the letters would contain a body part or even a note threatening suicide of I didn't do something an insane girl wanted me to do.

"I do" Ace said "it's an idea someone on the fan boards put up. A girl called Darkbird01 said that she wanted to get your attention, so someone else said that she should wear sexy underwear and then send it to you".

Darkbird01, she just had be a Raven emo wannabe. Or possible Talia al Ghul as she'd done that. Would explain how she knew I liked swords so much. My League of Assassins sword only stayed in the closet because I had a Nth metal blade that was vastly superior to anything Earth made.

"What fan site is this?" I inquired "cause the Teen Titan's fan page is pretty innocent".

It was pretty basic as well. Sure there was a forum, but I'd never seen anything like that on it.

"Emo and Goth" Ace explained "it's dedicated to love between you and Raven. They really don't like Supergirl at all".

I would of thought the leather pants would have made most boys drool over their keyboards. So it had to be a site for girls.

"And they send pictures to" commented Blackfire "nothing you'd be against but some of them pass the parcel a bit".

"Push the envelope" I corrected "pass the parcel is a game kids play at parties".

"Guess I haven't kissed enough people" Fire said idly.

That made no sense until I remembered that for Tamarans kissing was a way to transfer knowledge of languages rather than something done to show affection. Also the remark explained why Blackfire didn't mix up her words like her siblings did. The more English speaking people she kissed the better she would get with the language.

"It's not fair" Ace complained even as she killed me again "how come aliens always get the really cool powers, but humans don't. Nothing happens weird happens when I kiss people".

Clearly she didn't understand that kissing was meant to a pleasant thing, and not something that led to knowledge transfers.

"You're a meta-human" I pointed out "you have super powers".

Powers that were going to end up killing her. Which was something I should tell her about one day.

"Humans are actually really cool" Komand'r then said "You have so many hair colours, and skin colours too. It's very exotic"

That was a very positive way of looking at the differences between the many races of man.

"And you have much better taste buds than I do. That's why I put mustard on my food and like spicy stuff so much. Most foods are really bland for me, but you enjoy it and can eat things I wouldn't even put in my mouth. I can't enjoy the different kinds of foods you get to. And I have to eat more than you and that's with the energy I get from the sun".

"You're solar powered?" I asked.

I had not known that.

"Not like Kara is" Blackfire explained "It just helps fuel me, otherwise I never be able to fly. Even if I don't use my powers I still need to eat a lot just to stay alive. That's why I never have breakfast with you. I feel like a pig. Well that and we don't have table manners on my world. Humans are much nicer eaters that's for sure".

That explained a lot. I'd seen Starfire eat foods that tasted horrible because of their overpowering flavour, but for her they would of tasted quite normal, and she had always eaten like she been for days at a time starved. Yet she was really skinny as well.

"It wasn't always so bad" she went on to say "before Tamaran was devastated we had these special fruits that were really filling and full of calories, but that's all gone now".

Hearing that made me want to go and hug her, but Ace beat me to it. So I took the chance to kill her character.

"That's cheating" the telepathic teen complained.

"I always cheat in a fight" I reminded her while giving her a cheeky smile "You never play fair when its life and death. Have you learned nothing form me?".

She might have said something about that, but Kara suddenly came running in looking very upset.

"What's the matter?" I questioned as my girlfriend latched onto me.

"I can't tell you" she said "I just came back here to say _Kh__a__p zhao rr__u__p_".

"I love you too" I told her "I mean _Kh__ah__p zhao rr__i__p, zrhueiao_"

"And you always will" Kara said as she started to cry.

"Is the world going to end? Because she sounds like she knows you're about to die and that there's nothing she can do about it" remarked Ace.

"You are getting dark, woman" I said to the teen girl "that's really morbid".

"He's not going to die. That's the problem" Kara told Ace.

I guessed that the immortality thing had sunk in. She must of realised that if I was still around in a thousand years time then it meant I might keep going for much longer.

"Hey it's okay" I said trying to sound comforting "I'm sure I'll die one day. Then you hug me in the afterlife for the rest of time".

That did not reassure her. Although why I'd thought it would escaped even me. However she did start to calm down.

"Let's go and..." Kara looked around the room and then said "_zhaol"._

"I don't think you're in the right mood" I argued.

Those weren't exactly tears of joy.

"_Sokao_ _zhaol vot __kh__a__p"_ she then requested.

Her tone voice made it sound like I was doing her favour. Which was odd because if anything I thought I was too demanding when it came to how much sex we had. Not that she ever complained, but she didn't need half as much sleep as I did

"I'm not in the mood either. _Z__halish kh__ah__p_" I apologised

Crying women were not a turn on for me. Which was odd given my love of spanking.

"I really need you right now" she said, switching back to English.

Well I wanted to be stricter with her, but this seemed very important and she really did seem to desire intimacy right now. It seemed to cruel to refuse her so I tried to make sure it was okay.

"_Nahn rrip..._"

Rather than let me finish that question Kara got up and was taking her clothes before she'd even left the room.

"You should go" Ace said to me as my romantic partner vanished from sight "I can sense how she's feeling, she really needs you to... spend time with her right now".

Well was she was empathic one around here.

"Okay" I said before chasing after my girlfriend.

It wasn't as if I could have resisted for much longer.

Author Note.

Next chapter is Kara's last appearance in this story. You're all going to hate me like I hate George R.R.R Martian for killing Ned Stark.

Also have you ever noticed that any character Sean Bean plays seems to die. He died in Game of Thrones. He died in Goldeneye and in Equilibrium. He died in Lord of the Rings. Even in _The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion the character he voices dies at the end of the main quest. _

He did alright as _Sharpe_ but the rest of the time you just don't want to get attached to anyone he plays.

Oh and if you were wondering Kara now knows that Gothic's going to out live her even with her skipping a thousand years. She can't even tell him that because he might be tempted to get himself killed if he knew just long he's going to be around.


	15. Chapter 15

This chapter is short, but it's meant to be like the chapter Interviews in the Teen Titan story. It's not meant to be take too seriously either.

**Reviews**

**Guest.**

Well Supergirl will be back in Legion of Superheroes. I have some good ideas for that story. Gothic and Kara have adventures in space as a married couple. Sort of freelance heroes who sometimes work with characters from the Legion sometimes, but most of the time they are out exploring the fringes of known space. Maybe even a totally different galaxy.

I've never seen National Treasure so I didn't even know he was in it.

**Dark0w1**

Clemence Poesy, now there is a beautiful woman,

DC Gothic will go for a Lobo vibe later on. Spikes and chains. Loud music. Half naked girl on the back of the bike. That sort of thing.

I have no idea how much a Harley-Davidson Sportster cost.

**Joe Lawyer**

Why bother using magic at all. If he dresses differently and puts on some glasses no one will recognise him. It actually works as people do judge you by your appearance. Which is why people never figure out that Clark Kent is Superman. It's also true that changing your appearance in small ways can be more effective than a proper disguise. Glasses are good for that as they change the way your eyes look. I wear glasses so I know this. I've taken them off and people have failed to recognise me.

Raven will be cool with the harem idea. In fact its her idea. But Gothic doesn't know that yet. He still remembers her as the women who fought Supergirl because she was jealous.

The not killing people thing is something we've discussed before. Let's not go over it again.

I always assumed there were good reasons why Starfire acted the way she did, so I made my own reasons.

I never saw the Percy Jackson films. Are they any good?

Well there's no reason why Kara can't obtain immortality in the future. Magic might not be the answer because mystical forces are a weakness for her. Also she might not want to be immortal because she wants children and no one wants to out live their children. On the other hand if it was something done to her against her will, then she might not want to undo it so that Gothic doesn't have to lose her. I'll have to think about it.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Further Fan Service **

**Convention Centre – Jump City – 2002 **

"The things we do for the fans" I muttered.

I couldn't tell how many people there were in the convention centre, but given that they had run out of seats I was willing to go out on a limb and say it was a lot of people.

"That's a lot of people" I said to Ace and Blackfire.

The two of them just smirked at me. They didn't have to go out there and face the mob. Lucky gits.

"You'll be fine" Kara tried to assure me "Just smile and answer the questions".

"They only asked for me because none of the original Titans were available" I pointed out.

I didn't even consider myself to be one of the real Teen Titans, but I had been on the team and I was the only one the people who ran this convention had been able to contact. Apparently Beast Boy had been booked for this event however he cancelled due to the fact that Terra had turned up out of the blue. As for the others. Cyborg was busy with his tech support work for the League. Robin was retired. Raven was in Tibet. And Starfire was about thirty light years away. So that left me.

"Should I make a dramatic entrance?" I asked of my girlfriend.

"You could fly onto the stage" she suggested "it always works for me".

Well I was wearing the right belt for once. Only in this case I had worn it in order to escape an event rather than to get to one quickly.

"It's just a Q & A panel" Kara then said "it's easy. You give a quick demo of your powers: like say by flying onto the stage. Then you answer a few questions. And after that you sign a load of autographs".

"But there's hundreds of people out there" I told her "it could take hours".

"It's for charity" she reminded "this happens every November. I'm doing five different events, so you can handle two. Now go out there and be nice. That means no swearing and try to give good advice".

"Wait so not only do I have to answer personal questions I also have to be polite to people and act like I care about their problems?" I asked.

"That's what being a hero means" Kara replied.

"Not it my universe it doesn't" I protested "in my universe heroes slay monsters, overthrow dark lords and get to kiss princesses".

"You can kiss me" offered Blackfire "I am still a princess".

Wisely I ignored that, not that I had time to kiss anyone as someone was now talking over the speakers. So I headed up onto the cat walk above the stage and when my name was loudly shouted I dropped down. I slowed my fall and landed right in front of the audience.

Given that they all cheered it was safe to assume that my entrance had been cool looking. I could have shown off further by creating fire, but I didn't want to push my luck. The last thing I wanted was to set the sprinklers off. That would totally ruin the event.

The announcer had to wait for the applause to die down before he spoke again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you all have questions you want to ask, but we don't have time for all of them. So to ensure that as many as possible are answered with in the next hour I ask you all to keep you questions short as possible".

That was good to hear as answering every single question would of kept me here until gone midnight.

"Let's start with number 27".

It was then I noticed that most of the audience was made up of teenage girls who were all goth and emo types. That was odd because Beastie Boy was suppose to have been here. However I could see more mainstream people in the back so I suspected that seats had been given to the kind of fans who liked Raven and I, as that would explain all the purple hair and leather jackets.

The girl who stood up took a moment to ask her question, and it was a rather silly thing to ask.

"Boxers or briefs?"

That made everyone chuckle, and I felt myself relax.

"Boxers" I answered "the ones I'm wearing are dark blue, if anyone was wondering".

That made everyone chuckle again. The girl who'd asked started talking to her friends as she sat down. I guessed that she been dared to ask that question and that she'd impressed her peers by doing so.

"Number 9!" the announcer called out.

A girl in stripy tights got up and said.

"Did something bad happen to Robin?"

Now that I could see her more clearly she did seem to be more a Deadly Ballerina fan than anything else.

"He's just retired" I told the girl "he's fine I promise".

"Number 42".

I wondered if the boy standing up was suppose to dressed up like me or not, because I'd never made safety pins part of my look.

"Can you really do magic spells?" he asked.

"Yes" was my simple answer.

"Prove it" said the young man.

That wasn't a question. It was a challenge. So I quickly thought of a spell I could show off with.

"I'll need you to come on stage with a friend" I told the lad.

He and a kid, who really was dressed like me, came up and I directed them to stand on different sides of the small stage.

"_K'yarnak nw uaaa_h" I said

The two boys were magically teleported so that they exchanged places. I'd been working on a teleporting spell for a while now and what I'd been able to create so far was an incantation that caused two objects, or people, to swap their locations. Not much good for teleporting around, but it was a very cool party trick and it went down well with the people in the crowd.

"Number 5" said the unseen broadcaster.

"Feels alive" I whispered so softly that no one heard.

"Do you have any weaknesses?" a shy looking girl asked.

She reminded me of Ace, what with the hair, so I wanted to give her an answer. However I didn't have a real weaknesses, like say Kara did and if I had I would never tell anyone that I did.

"Pretty ladies" I said to the young woman, while giving her a wink.

That seemed to have the effect I wanted. Another round of chuckles went around the large room. And it was kind of true as well.

"Number 37" was chosen next.

"As a child, what was your dream job?" an adult at the back asked.

I focused on who had spoken and to my surprise it was Clark Kent.

"I'm asking on behalf of the Daily Planet's readers" the disguised Superman explained.

What was he doing on a piece on me? Kara should of warned me about such a thing.

"I always wanted to captain a star ship" I answered, being totally honest "I was a major geek as a child so that was my dream job".

Apparently lots of people thought that was cute. I thought it was dorky.

"Number 51".

When Lois Lane stood up I knew then that the universe had a sense of humour.

"What are you hoping to accomplish over the next few years?" the brilliant reporter asked of me "and this is also for the Daily Planet".

Given that that the newspaper had it's headquarters on the other side of the country, it seemed very strange that they were here. Kara must not of know so perhaps they were in town to see her and it was suppose to be a surprise. It was her birthday tomorrow so that theory made sense.

"Tough question" I admitted "I don't really know what I want to do. Well no I mean there are things I want to do, but I don't know how to accomplish them just yet. I guess I'm still figuring things out".

She asked tough questions. I could see why she was so respected by other reporters.

Another number was called out and the question was.

"Whose your favourite member of the League?"

"Supergirl" I answered.

Like I was going to say anything else.

"What's the source of your power" a guy I couldn't quite see asked.

"I don't really have one" I replied "I'm not powered by anything".

"Is it true you can sing?" asked another emo girl.

"I can" I told her "and I can play the guitar".

By now I tuning out the announcer, and I was trying to answer as many questions as I could before the time ran out.

"Do you see yourself as a good role model?" another reporter asked.

At this point I could only assume that the journalists had been here for Beast Boy, which made sense as he had been a member of the Doom Patrol before joining the Titans, and now he was in League. The idea that they could be here for me, well that made me feel a little dizzy.

"I've never seen myself as any sort of role model" I said.

That was all I wanted to say on that issue.

"What kind of ice cream do you like?" a small child asked.

"Mint chocolate chip" I told him.

This went on for a while, and thankfully the hard questions had already been answered. The remaining ones I did answer were all harmless. So soon enough I was at table signing autographs.

While I did this I spotted my girlfriend (who was dressed as Kara Kent, complete with dorky glasses) talking with her cousin, and they kept looking over to towards me.

"_Goka og lloig uaaad_" I muttered while looking at Kara.

All I got from her was pride, from Lois and Clark I felt approval. It seemed that they were happy with my performance. Now that I thought about it I was rather chuffed as well. I hadn't humiliated myself, and I seemed to have a lot more fans than I had ever imagined.

So all in all this hadn't been the nightmare I'd thought it would be.

Author Notes

"K'yarnak nw uaaah" (Exchange Place Spell)

Causes two objects or people to switch places. Only works over short distances.

"Goka og lloig uaaad" (Grant Empathic Mind Spell)

Gives the caster empathic powers for a short time.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author Note**

After this chapter is the short story The Balance. Which means the next chapter will be set after that story. If you haven't read it then now is the time.

FYI I did try to write a good send off for Kara, but I hated what I wrote and I couldn't fix it, so I decided to have Gothic miss the whole thing due to Stargirl as she's the one person who would be happy that she was gone.

I have a rough draft of the chapter if anyone would like to try and write it. Having a guest written chapter would be very cool I think.

**Reviews**

DarkAvenger001

I've used the colt before so I'll give it a pass for now. I might revisit the idea in the next DC Gothic book as Raven will be around so Gothic might need something that kill monsters. His Nth metal sword can handle mystical creatures easily enough for now.

Joe Lawyer

I don't think I'll bother then. I put up with enough kids films when I babysit my neice. She's really gotten into Scooby Doo recently for some reason and I'm very glad because I don't think I could have sat through the Ice Age films again.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Missed **

**Mess Hall – The Watchtower – November 2002**

I'd just entered the Mess Hall to met Shayera for coffee, like we did every week, when someone called out.

"Gothic with me, now!"

The next thing I knew someone had grabbed my collar and I was being pulled along a hallway, by a blonde women who wasn't Kara, and since she wasn't my girlfriend she had no right to tell me to do anything or drag me off to God only knows where.

"What?" was all I managed to say.

I was rather surprised to see that it was Stargirl who had decided to drag me away from my coffee break.

"Come on, J'onn won't let me go on the mission until we get another member to help is" Courtney said as she let go off me "We need three people and you're volunteering "

Apparently the volunteering had a different meaning to Stargirl than it did to everyone else in the universe.

"What mission?" I asked in confusion.

"Reaper and a bunch of other crooks just robbed a gold exchange in Freedom City. Now come on!"

With that she grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the teleporter where a man in the battle suit was waiting. He had to be S.T.R.I.P.E, we'd never met, but you couldn't mistake him for anybody else.

"Gothic to Shayera" I said, using the comm device to my ear "I've got an emergency to handle, so I need a rain check on that coffee. If you see my honey tell her I'll be back as soon as I can"

There was no point calling Kara directly as she was in the training room with her cousin. I didn't want to distract her as she didn't get to spend much time with her only living family. Plus she might want to come along, and that would be bad since she and Stargirl did not always get along.

After getting a quick confirmation I tapped my communicator to close the channel and hurriedly got on the teleporter with the others, Stargirl was looking very impatient, she was even tapping her foot while frowning at me, it was rather adorable.

"Beam us down, Scotty" I said to the tech.

With a flash of light we were gone.

(Line Break)

**Streets – Freedom City- November 2002 **

The street we arrived on was swarming with cops, there were blue and red lights flashing everywhere and the sirens made it hard to hear anything. The door to the gold exchange was a flaming ruin, so with a wave of my hand I snuffed out the fire.

"They were holed up inside, but managed to get through our net, they left the hostages behind and somehow got into the sewer," explained the sergeant in charge.

That was good news as fighting the crooks while they had hostages could result in the deaths of innocennt people.

"Alright, we're going in after them," ordered Stargirl, already advancing toward the nearest manhole cover

Well she hadn't mellowed out much since I'd last seen her. She was still rushing off into danger. I had thought she'd might have learned not to be so reckless after Toyman's robots but it seemed that she hadn't taken that lesson to heart after all.

"Is that even the right direction" I asked one of the cops.

"Nah you want the manhole on the other side of the street" the law enforcement officer answered.

"Thanks" I said

Stargirl heard that and raced off towards to the other sewer entrance. She blasted her down rather than simply lift up the cover, and then she was racing off again.

Not wanting her to get too far ahead, and possibly get herself killed, I chased after her. I dropped into the sewer with a splash, I was so glad that I wore big sturdy boots. STRIPE landed behind me, the heavy metal suit sounding like it might have cracked the ground when it hit the concrete that made up this tunnel.

Ahead I could Stargirl hovering above the raw sewage.

"Ugh, I thought sewers were cleaner than this" Courtney "and they smell way bad"

Judging by the smell I suspected that this tunnel hadn't been washed clean by rainwater any time recently.

"I'm just glad the suit has air filters," STRIPE added as he stomped forward, while using in built lights to illuminate the tunnel.

"So any idea about how to track them?" I asked of the two people with me.

"My sensors can pick up thermal residue" assured S.T.R.I.P.E "we can just follow their heat trail".

In real life that might not work, but this was a comic book universe so I just accepted it.

"Alright then, off we go" declared Stargirl.

"Why are you in charge?" I asked "I'm not saying I should be, but you're not a team leader".

S.T.R.I.P.E actually was, but he seemed to be following his stepdaughters led.

"Cause I'm the birthday girl" she explained "and unlike Miss Perfect I know that whole world doesn't stop just because she's turning twenty. There having a surprise party for her and everything".

It didn't take Sherlock Homes to figure out who she was talking about.

"Wait hold on" I said "why don't I know about this party. I'm her boyfriend. I should know these things".

I was also pretty sure that boyfriends were actually met to help organise such things.

"Superman told us not to tell you" S.T.R.I.P.E explained "Supergirl knows he's planning something, and so Supes didn't want you giving the game away".

Normally I'd be offended by the lack of trust, but on the other hand if I had known and had Kara suspected that I knew, she would have made me tell her by using her boobs.

"Come on let's get moving" Stargirl said.

(Line Break)

** Unused Factory – Freedom City- November 2002**

The trail led us through the sewers, the water was getting gradually deeper as we travelled Finally we came to a stop at the bottom of a staircase. The steps went up into what had to be a basement of some sort.

"Any idea where we are?" I asked.

"My sensors say somewhere in the old industrial distract, we should be directly below an old steel mill" S.T.R.I.P.E told me "assuming my maps are up to date".

"Abandoned factories" I said with a sigh "I hate abandoned factories".

"I know what you mean," Stargirl agreed, "Bad guys never have any taste. I never end up fighting in a penthouse apartment, or a nice spa".

"Hey, I said I was sorry" the man in mech suit said "they were all booked up and I can't afford to pay full price".

Clearly they were about to rehash an old argument.

"How about I pay for a spa treatment" I offered "I can afford it. You can consider it a late birthday present".

That seemed to settle the argument.

"I make the entrance, you follow up while they're distracted, just like in Chicago" S.T.R.I.P.E then said to his stepdaughter

The two readied themselves for the fight, STRIPE's armor folding away from weapon ports while Stargirl's staff began to glow.

"Um, guys, what about me?" I asked "should I wait here?"

The father/daughter team turned to look at me, then at each other.

"Sorry, not used to working with others, but I wanted the backup, cause the reports said Reaper wasn't alone, he has a pretty large group of thugs. So standard entrance for us. I blow the door and draw attention; Star follows in and takes out the goons as fast as possible. Then we move onto the heavy hitters, they're easier to take down without their backup. So I want you to help Courtney" said S.T.R.I.P.E

"Got it?" Stargirl asked.

"Nearly" I answered "whose Reaper?"

"He's a psychopath with a scythe" S.T.R.I.P.E "he can create fire as well. That's why we wanted your help".

Made sense I could put out fires, and I could control fire as well. Plus I couldn't die. That made me perfect for taking on a murderer who liked to used flame attacks.

"Okay I'm ready" I told the Whitmores.

"Good. Three, two, one, go!"

STRIPE blasted the roof into dust and shot up through it, Stargirl following in his wake. I ran up the stairs after them.

The smashed concrete was thick in the air, making it hard to see due to all the dust but I could just about make out the glow of Stargirl's staff so I followed the light.

Then a dark shape stumbled forward me, holding something that looked like crowbar, he swung but I ducked. I then knocked the man unconscious via a good blow to the head.

A gun then went off and another man was suddenly near me. He was coughing because of all the dust. He was so distracted that he went down easy. I didn't even have to dodge a blow.

Then bullets filled the air as the remaining thugs opened fire. I ducked and rolled behind scrap metal.

"Take them out you idiots!" a voice I didn't know called out.

Poking my head out of cover I saw Stargirl blast another thug, while STRIPE took down the last of the hired goons with an electrical discharge.

"Give up, you're going down!" shouted Stargirl as the super villains made their appearance.

Just as I started to try and flank the remaining crooks Stargirl was blasted from the air by a purple beam of energy, which sent here careening into a pile of empty crates. She started to get at once, so I didn't worry about instead I focused on the person who had hurt her. At once I knew who it was that had fired that blast. It was Star Sapphire, a woman who had a jewel that gave her similar powers to that of a Green Lantern.

Knowing that I needed to take her down fast, I took out my collapsible staff and a dart. My plan was send the sedative tipped projectile at the women. I sent the dart at Star Sapphire, and it hit her. She called it suprise and I sought out my next target.

Then while I was looking for my next target I saw S.T.R.I.P.E as he was batted side by Giganta, she wasn't big right now, what with us all being indoors, but she was mighty enough to send a guy in a mech suit flying.

However before I could anything about her. Someone I couldn't see sent a fireball right at me, and I staggered, but was otherwise unharmed. I seemed to be in not fire proof then at least very resistant to flames. However that didn't mean I was just going to stand around and let people send attacks at me.

I dodged the next fireball and began to close the distance, trying to get within range for a strike with my staff. One good blow and this Reaper would be down for the count.

As I moved I saw out of the corner of my eye Stargirl as she starteed dodging the clumsy strikes of the giant and evil woman.

Meanwhile yet another fireball had been sent my way by the figure at the back of the factory. Again I easily dodged the assault.

"To slow" I said to Reaper as we came face to face.

As you might expect from someone called Reaper the villain wore a skull mask to cover his face and had dressed himself in a black cloak that over some sort of body armour. He also had a scythe.

To counter that weapon I brought my Nth metal sword into play and let my staff collapse so it fitted into the pocket of my coat.

However rather than attack me with scythe I ended up dodging a fire wreathed punch. Which freaked me out because that was sometimes how I utilised the powers I'd gotten from Trigon.

"I'll kill you for what you helped to do!" screamed Reaper.

"Err what" was all I had to say to that.

The guy was clearly nutso.

Reaper lashed out with his weapon, and I met his curved blade with my sword. I'd not gone up against a scythe before and this guy knew how to use it. However while he was strong and somewhat agile, he had no real fighting skill at all. His moves were predictable enough that I was able to anticipate his strikes.

When the time was right I forced Reaper's weapon aside and I started beating him up. The crook's head snapped as I gave him a hard left hook punch to the face.

"You ready to give up yet?" I asked my foe

Reaper shook his head slightly as if to clear it

"No" the villian said.

Somehow the skull masked formed into a grin before his jaw opened wide. He reminded of a certain Mortal Kombat character, and I guesses what he was about to do.

Since I'd know it was coming I was able to dodge the stream of fire.

"You're so going down!" shouted Reaper

As fires ignited over his hands the bad guy stalked forward, and I prepared to met him as I covered my own hands with flames.

That was when Stargirl shouted out that she needed help, so I decided to be very unsporting. I kicked Reaper in the nuts, and he dropped to the ground.

"I've never seen you before" a female voice then said.

I spun around and looked up and then up some more. Giganta stood towering over me. Her outfit was slightly torn and hair was a bit mussed up. But other than she looked healthy enough, which meant no one else had been able to lay any hurt on her.

"Now you'll go squish easier then the other two. There's tin suit to protect you and you can't fly either".

Rather than answer I flipped backward just as Giganta's fist came down. She hit so hard that ground cracked. Which was impressive give that it was a cement surface.

"Hold still!" the huge woman commanded in a rather childish way.

"Sorry, no can do" I replied

This time the massive lady tried to stamp on me, but that had been her mistake. I saw the move coming well in advance and I had all the time I needed to take out my staff and to turn it into a spear. When she tried to squash me like a bug she found out that I had a sting.

"Ouch" the Giganta called out, as she started to hop about on onr foot. "What the hell did you do that for? You heroes aren't supposed to hit girls".

That was when she hit her head on the roof and fell the ground so hard it shook.

"I would never hit a woman" I protested "you hurt yourself by trying to step on someone who was holding a spear. It's own fault young lady".

She seemed to responed to the tone of my voice which made me wonder how much a big kid she was.

"Now unless you want me to burn you're hair off" I said as I brought forth some fire "I suggest you..."

I didn't even have to finish the threat. I'd correctly guessed that she took pride in her looks.

"Alright, just don't burn my hair, it finally got long enough to style properly".

With that she started to shrink, returning to a size more normal for a human. Then I realised that I had nothing to tie her up with. I so needed to start carrying enchanted handcuffs or maybe even a nice chain.

"Just go stand by the wall until we're finished" I ordered "if you run I'll track you down and make you bald".

Amazingly it worked, she even sulked a little as she did as she was told.

Looking around I saw S.T.R.I.P.E and Reaper duking it out, blasts of fire and energy filled the air around them as they fought. The bad guy got the upper hand and in a display of amazing strength he managed to pick up S.T.R.I.P.E and throw him into some scrap metal.

Then when Reaper noticed the fact his two female partners were down he said

"I'll burn you all to ash!"

Soon enough dark coloured flames were encasing Reaper's body. Everything around him began to melt or they started to burn.

Using my power over fire I tried to snuff out the fire, but it didn't seem to matter. The flames were spreading wider, crates combusting in the heat. The only hope of stopping was for me to take him down hard.

"RUN!" I shouted out as loudly as possible.

I then ran into the fire, and I hit Reaper on to the top of his head with enough force to drive the crook to the ground. At once the fire began to dissipate, and I was able to put them out thanks to my own control over fire. It was then that I realised that I was on fire, but thankfully I was unharmed and I was able to put out that fire as well.

Both Stargirl and Star Sapphire let out wolf whistles, as the smoke cleared.

"What?" I asked

That was when I noticed that my t-shirt had burned away. Thankfully my jeans had proven to be a little more fortunate, but they were runined and my belt had melted enough to render it useless. Hopefully I could get a new one from Batman. At least my boots were okay.

"If I known that there were guys like you around, I might not have tried to kill off all the men in the world" Star Sapphire said.

She was referring to the time she had ended up on a team with a rogue Amazon that wanted to kill all men with a disease. Anyone who had been a willing part of that plan had to be an idoit as well as crazy

"Well gee golly Mam, it makes me so happy that I restored your faith in my gender"

The sarcasm did not have the desired effect.

"Oh no, I still have no love for men, but it would have been such a shame to miss this view"

I just had to sigh.

(Line Break)

**Factory – Freedom City- November 2002**

"You know, we made a pretty good team," said Stargirl, as she leaned in to rest her head on my still bare shoulder "it was just like old times".

Yes it had been. She been reckless and I'd had to do most of the work.

"Sure was" I agreed.

I watched as the thugs and three super villains were being taken away by the police in special vans designed to hold meta humans.

"We'll have to do this again some time" she then said "I like it when you lose your shirt".

I recalled that the last time she'd seen me topless that the t-shirt had gone missing. I had to wonder what Blackfire had done with it. Hopefully nothing creepy.

"I mean, we took down three dangerous super villain , and recovered everything they took. We did good here"

"That we did" I agreed.

"We so have to do this again sometime." Stargirl said while beaming a smile at me "I know that you like hot blondes"

S.T.R.I.P.E's face could not be seen, but somehow I just knew he was staring at me. And I thought it wise not to anger a father who had that much firepower. Besides I got the impression the Stargirl was only flirting with me because she'd didn't like Kara, and not because she actually wanted me as a boyfriend.

"We'll see" was all I said on the matter, before changing the subject "and speaking of hot blondes I better go home and change. I'm suppose to be taking her out tonight".

Plus I had a party to intend.

**Mess Hall – The Watchtower – November 2002**

"Okay what happened here?" I asked as I entered the mess hall.

By the looks of things the entire mess hall had been used to set up a party. Kara's surprise party I assumed. Only no one looked to be having any sort of fun.

"Did someone die?" I then inquired, now feeling rather worried "is Supergirl okay?".

"You might want to sit down" said Superman as he held out a cube of some sort.

I had the horrible feeling that I knew exactly what had happened. It was a year early as well.

"It's bad isn't it" I muttered as I held the cube.

Indeed it was bad. In fact it was exactly what I had feared.


	17. Chapter 17

Joe Lawyer

Kara going to the future a year earlier is due to Gothic, but not directly it's due to changes in the time line. The Fatal Five were dealt with by Gothic so Kara's in the future to combat a different threat.

Raven won't be back just yet. Well she is around she's just busy. I think making your boyfriend a harem is a good way to say I'm sorry. I mean it isn't the only reason she does it, but it's part of it.

Dark0w1

A chainaxe is a bit much. He has lots of weapons already... oh who am I kidding. You can never have enough weapons.

I've never seen a biker in a fur coat. Although a leather jacket made from the hide of a mythical creature. That sounds simply awesome. Raven would so make something like that.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Mistakes**

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

I was woken up by the noise of someone moving about in the bedroom. This didn't alarm me, which was a good thing because the hangover I'd inflicted upon myself made it impossible for me to do more than turn my head, and even that was painful to endure.

"Go back to sleep" I heard a voice say.

It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but they did and I could soon she Shayera Hol moving around my room. By the looks of things she was trying to find something in the dark. I would have turned the lights on, but I knew that would only make the pain in my head worse and besides I didn't want to move.

"Are you okay?" I asked "did I do something to upset you".

I only asked because she seemed to be making an attempt not to look at me. I quickly figured out that it had something to do with the fact that she was also attempting to get dressed.

"No" Shay said to me "you didn't do anything wrong. I did".

It didn't take the world's greatest detective to figure out what had happened. But I tried to remember anyway.

We'd been drinking, a lot and Shay had seemed a lot more clingy than normal. I'd put it down to the fact that she'd seen me die. That sort of thing really shakes a person up. Mixing that sort of emotional stress with booze had been a recipe for a big mistake it seemed.

"Did we?" I inquired.

"Yes" she confirmed "and it can never happen again".

By now my healing powers were kicking in which helped with the headache, but I was as thirsty as a man could get. Plus my bladder was full so I got up to go to the bathroom, and went I got out again Shay hadn't left she was just sitting on my bed.

"I'll get you some water" I told her.

I didn't bother to wait for an answer I just went down one floor grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge. I'd never understood the point of having bottles of cold water around until now.

By the time I got back up I found that Shayera still hadn't left. Which was good but she seemed very depressed.

"Don't want to do the walk of shame?" I asked her.

At least she didn't bothered by the fact that I was walking around naked. I'd been to distracted by the needs of my body to bother to put anything on.

"I don't know what that means" she said to me as she drank down the water I'd gotten her.

"It's what happens when you get drunk and end up having a one night stand" I explained "you feel ashamed of what you did and end up sneaking out early to try and get home. It's really embarrassing as you look a right state what with being hungover and a bit of mess".

I should know. I'd done myself and on of the lecturers at my college had spotted me, she even mentioned that how awful I'd looked to the entire class. It had been very embarrassing.

"Oh" was all she said to that.

I knew that there wasn't anything I could say to make her feel better, so I didn't bother. Personally the only regret I had was that I couldn't quite remember having sex with her. It was a bit jumbled up, and I had the horrible feeling I hadn't lasted very long. Which was a shame as I was normally very good at giving women orgasms.

Also I had few images of her running a bath. I had no idea why, but I assumed that at the time it had made sense to drunk people we'd been.

If I had to guess Shayera was trying to decide if it was more embarrassing to stay here or to teleport up to the Watchtower. It was Gotham time up in the station. Which meant the early morning crew should be setting up right about now. But here it was the middle of the night.

"You can take a shower" if you want I offered "there's two other bedrooms..."

"I can't believe I bathed you" she said suddenly.

Well that explained why I felt so clean, and why I could remember her filling the tub with water.

"In your defence I did get pretty dirty today, and better you than the Amazons".

The women of Paradise Island had offered to let us all bathe after the mission, however I'd been using a magical glamour to disguise myself as a woman. Had the spell failed during the bathing? Well they would have not been happy to find a naked man among them, or they might have been very happy to see me which would have gotten me into trouble of a different sort.

"Grooming someone is a big deal on my planet" Shay began to explain "and I wrapped my wings around you".

I didn't actually know what the thing with the wings meant, but it I guessed that it was very personal.

"I do love you" Shay then admitted "but I don't love you in that way. This was a mistake".

Well I'd know that she was very found of me, but I hadn't realised just how attached she was. Then again I could imagine that she was very lonely and she'd come closing to losing one of the few friends she had. But rather than comment on that I just drank some more water and got back into bed. I found that I didn't really care much by now. I was just too fed up.

"So this can't happen again" Shay then said.

I had expected her to leave, but rather than do that she got undressed and then told me sit up so that she could put a wing under me.

"Scoot down a little and then lie back" she then instructed.

Not seeing any reason to say no I did as I was told and soon found myself cocooned in feathers. It was weird at first but once I got use to it started to feel nice. Even more so when Shay turned my head so that her bare breasts were in my face. It was very comfortable.

"Don't tell anyone about this" Shay then said "people might get the wrong idea".

"So I'm not getting more sex?" I asked "this is kind of a tease, you know. You have great breasts".

Okay so it wasn't a bad thing, but I was worried that a certain part of my body would get the wrong idea. Not that my sex drive could be blamed as having an attractive naked woman in your bed does normally lead to sex.

"We did it twice already" she then told me "I'm worn out. I just want to be close to you".

Disappointing, but that at least meant that I'd been impressive enough that she'd wanted to go again.

"Go to sleep and we can sex again in the morning" she then promised me.

I took her at her word and resisted the urge to suck on her nipples. I had to kick that habit.

"Blackfire is not going to be happy about this" Shay said before she fell asleep.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

When I next woke up there was a woman in my room, it was just that she was the wrong one and she looked very angry. Shayera was long gone judging by the fact that I was alone in bed. She managed to sneak out without waking me up this time.

"I don't believe this" said a mad looking Blackfire "you slept with some woman. I was told that you'd been on a mission all day!".

Sometimes I got the impression that a lot of people talked about me behind my back. Now I was pretty sure of it.

"I was on a mission" I told the alien princess "and I nearly died so maybe you could be a bit nicer to me".

"So what you went out and decided to bring some slut home".

Now I was actually glad Shay had snuck out. Well actually I wasn't because she'd lied to me, and that was rather mean, but had she been her that remark would not have gone down well.

"Shut up" I ordered as I got out of bed.

It's not easy to look intimating when your naked, but somehow I managed it make it work.

"Who I sleep with is none of your business" I then said "Kara's gone, she isn't coming back and I don't even know when Ray will be back, so as far as I'm concerned I am single. So I can have sex with whoever I damn well please and it's got nothing to do with you".

I wasn't finished yet.

"This is just typical of all my so called friends" I went on say "none of you care about what I want. It's all about what you want from me. Well I'm fed up of being the nice guy who tries to other people happy".

I got out of bed and started to get dressed. I decided to go with the leather jacket and the spiky belt as I wanted to go out for spin on my bike.

Then I remembered it had been destroyed, and by who. That wasn't going to happen again.

"Things are going to change around here" I warned Blackfire "and given that this is my house if you don't like it you can move out".

By this point she was crying, and that would normally make me want to comfort her. But no one wanted to comfort me, well not unless it was their sake, and I had no desire to be used.

At least for once it wasn't just the women in my life who were driving me crazy. Not a single male member of the either the Justice League or the Teen Titans had made an effort for me. Well Superman had at least tried to be kind to me, but that had been more about him because Kara was his cousin, and he hadn't been too broken up about it either.

"I'm just trying to look out for you" Blackfire said when it became clear that the water work weren't getting her anywhere "I don't think you should be sleeping around just because Kara's gone".

I did not believe that for a second.

"No you don't want me sleeping around because your plan is to wait a while and then try to get with me" I corrected.

She might not realise it, but I knew her well enough to know that on some level that was her plan.

"That's not true" the alien princess argued "and Ace is really upset. She thinks you don't care about us anymore".

Another transparent attempt to pull on my heartstrings, and it sort of worked as I was not at all mad at her. A sixteen year old girl with a crush was bound to get jealous, and given the hormones it would be natural for her to act out because of it.

"How's this going to look when the League find out" Blackfire then said "you can't be getting drunk here if your suppose to be looking after her".

Damn I'd not taken that into account. If the League took her away, assuming she'd let them, then things would get bad. Ace didn't legally exist so social services never came over, which was good because I wasn't really suitable to look after her. I wasn't related to Ace in any way and I was only legally eighteen and she'd never been to school either. Any social worker would take her away in a heartbeat.

That would a disaster even if Cadmus didn't try to grab her because I was the only person who was totally immune to Ace's powers. If anyone tried to take her away she'd lash out, and then go on the run. A life of crime would be her only way to survive.

"You're right" I said to Blackfire "I won't bring anyone back here and I won't drink".

Just when she'd thought she won I dropped a bombshell.

"And if you destroy anything else in this house I'll kick you out. I have to put Ace's safety first. Kara isn't around to look after us any more, so I need you to help me keep her safe and that means you need to grow up. No more arguing or you can find somewhere else to live".

The League wouldn't have worried too much about Ace with Supergirl being close by, but I couldn't protect her on my own. They try to protect her by keeping her in the Watchtower, and while that might be for the best I couldn't be sure that Ace would agree. Teenagers aren't exactly known for being rational, and Ace had good reasons for not being mental stable.

Realising all of that made me understand how much trouble we were in changed my plans for the day. I know had to go and bring Raven back if only so that we had more fire power around here. At the very least I needed to some mystical defences put up around the house. Thankfully I had an idea on how to accomplish both of those things.

I knelt down to take a special box out from under my bed. I opened it and ignored the keepsakes, such as Kara's special ring, Slade's Mask, the Eye of the Panther, the underwear Tali al Ghul had sent me, Mr Stabby and so on. What I took out was an old fashioned looking scroll.

"I'm going out for a while" I said to the exiled princess "I need to see a witch about a portal, so be a lamb and look after Ace for me".

I gave Blackfire a kiss on the cheek, and then told her to leave the room. She was understandable confused about my change in attitude, but she did as she was told.

Once the door was shut I started reading the words on the scrolls, which was some sort of Latin, and I was transported away.

(Line Break)

**Hidden Cadmus Base – Location Unknown – November 2002 **

As if by magic... well actually is was by magic, I appeared in another place. To my complete lack of surprise I was in what seemed to be sort of medieval alchemy lab. The kind of place you'd expect to met Professor Snape in.

What did shock me was the missing wall and the fact that everything beyond the room looked futuristic. It didn't make much sense, but it did led me to figuring out that I was in a Cadmus base. Thankfully for me it looked abandoned.

I quickly located the magic mirror that contained the sorcerers known to me by the name of Tala. She was delighted to see me.

"So have you come to take up my offer of an apprenticeship?" she asked.

Someone she managed to look seductive even while trapped in a piece of glass.

"Yes" I answered "but I won't be able to dedicate myself to it full time, and I need a favour from you".

It took her no time at all to answer.

"Get me out of this mirror and I'll do anything you ask of me. _Anything_".

That was a hard to resist offer, and I didn't even try. I needed her to help me unlock my magical potential. If I could get Raven back she could do that for me, as she had helped me learn a little, but it was never a good idea to let anyone know the full extent of what you were capable off. So having two teachers would help with that.

"I need you to take me to Nanda Parbat" I told the trapped witch.

Tala was surprised by that, but she nodded her head. I wasn't worried about the magic user going back on her word as I knew that while she had a lot of power she was easily controlled by a man. At least in the short term.

Now all I had to do was get her out of the mirror.

"Zhro" I said while touching the mirror.

Nothing happened. Lifting the spell apparently wasn't the answer. Maybe because there was more than one spell on the mirror.

"You need to use a proper spell like Faust did" Tala told me "try calling upon your magic and then say: By the power of Zeus. Free her essence from this vessel and open the path to freedom"

After a few moments of thinking I figured it out. I let the demonic fire engulf my hands and I then said

"By the power of Zeus. Free her essence from this vessel and open the path to freedom".

I felt a dark energy rush through me and I got the impression that I'd just used Trigon's powers to perform that spell. It made sense as that demon had been able to transform the entire Earth into a Hell. So even with just a fraction of his spirit within me I should be able to cast spells such as this.

My theory was proven right when I saw that Tala was now back in her physical body, and what a body it was. She had it all, the legs, the hips, the boobs. No wonder she was able to get powerful men so interested in her. Heck she had me interested in her.

"You're more powerful then I imagined" the witch "in time you won't even need me to open portals for you".

I doubted that as I knew that it took incredible amounts of magical energy to open a portal, and even then they could be quite random. To make a portal you could control was an amazing feat.

"Just take me to Tibet" I said "I'll need a lift home too".

"As you wish" Tala replied as she began to channel her own magical energy.

(Line Break)

**Nanda Parbat – Tibet – November 2002**

After stepping through the portal I found myself on the other side of the world. Which was pretty cool. What wasn't cool was the temperature. It was colder here than I had expected. Living in California did not prepare you well for snow and ice. Oddly Tala did not seem to be bothered by the weather, but she might not even be human so perhaps it wasn't weird at all.

Before I'd even reached the stairs two monks armed only with simple wooden staffs blocked my path.

"I'm guessing you guys aren't pacifists" I commented.

They looked like Buddhist monks, but they weren't acting like any peace lovers I'd ever met.

"I fear that we must deny you entrance" an elderly monk.

By now I was getting sick and tired of people denying me things, so I took out my telescoping staff and extended it.

"You have much rage in your heart" the old man said.

"That's because people keep pissing me off" I replied.

"I do not mean to anger you" said the aged monk with a slight bow "but you can not allow you to enter the temple. We will stop you".

"Yeah, you and what army" I mocked.

That was when the old man clapped his hands and that summoned a small army of monks. They appeared out of know where and did a lot of acrobatics, much of which involved running across rooftops.

"Well that's impressive" I muttered.

This was a little much even for me. I wasn't willing to kill holy men, and I didn't think I could win without using lethal force. If Raven hadn't come here by choice I would have at least tried, but she had to know I was here and since wasn't willing to see me there was no point fighting.

"I'm guessing she doesn't want to see me?" I said to the oldest monk.

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. The sadness in his eyes told me enough.

I turned on the spot and walked away.

"Just take me to Jump City" I ordered of Tala "I need some time to myself. You can come find me in few days".

The witch did as she was instructed and soon enough I was back in the city I called home.

(Line Break)

**Nanda Parbat – Tibet – November 2002**

"That was horrible" said Raven as the leader of the monks entered the temple "I wanted to talk to him so bad".

The spiritual leader put a comforting hand upon the woman's shoulder. She was practical hidden under her purple cloak and her voice had remained stoic, but the holy man didn't need to see or hear Raven to know just hard she was taking this.

"It was a test" he explained "you had to be sure that your passion can no longer control your actions".

"That doesn't make me feel any better" commented Raven.

"Of course not" the monk replied "but it does mean you are ready to the goddess's work".

"Yes" the part demon said "I have a lot to do".

She could only hope that one day she would be forgiven and that all this hardship would be justly rewarded.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

"Gothic" said a female voice.

I turned my head to see that Ace had come down to the basement. I'd been to busy beating up a defenceless punching bag to hear her coming.

"I'm sorry about Kara" the telepathic meta-human then said.

That made me stop wanting to hit things, and I just had to sit down. I was just so tired. I'd pushed myself too far today. Not physically but mentally I was worn out.

"You're the first person to say that" I told Ace "no one else seems to care much about how I feel".

It was true. No one else had said it. A few people had expressed without saying anything, but no had actually used words. I'd really needed to hear it and Ace was the only person to figure that out.

"I do" she assured me and she moved to sit next to me on the floor "I know how much it hurts. I can feel how sad you are".

Yeah the word sad summed me up nicely right now.

"You're a wonderful person" I told the teen as I put my arm around her "don't ever forgot that".

"I'll never leave you" Ace said trying to sound she meant it "no matter what I'll always be here for you".

If only that was true, but even if her own brain didn't kill her she'd die one day. Sometimes I thought I would be handle it, but given how hard I'd been hit just by Kara leaving I knew I really wouldn't be able to deal with the death of someone I loved. Plus there I had to consider that I wasn't as immortal as I'd thought I had been. I died in Tartarus. Granted the rules that governed life and death had been different in that realm, but I now knew it was possible that I would die sooner than Ace would.

Which made me think that the best thing to do was to simply enjoy the time I had with people. As for what would happen later, well I had no control over that.

"Let's go out for some ice cream" I said to Ace "I wanna spend some time with you".

That made her perk up at once. It was like I'd thrown an invisible switch.

"I want chocolate" she declared.

Yeah I needed chocolate as well. A double scoop with a flake. That would really hit the spot about now.


	18. Chapter 18

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Dates **

**Ra's al Ghul's Private Island – The Caribbean Sea - November 2002**

With a roar of pain Ra's al Ghul burst out from the green liquid, as he had multiple times before, a scream tearing itself out of his throat as the healing fluids once more reversed the effect that the passing of years had upon the human body.

This was not the first time he had used the Lazarus Pit, far from it in fact, yet Ra's had never gotten used to the experience. Truth be told he actually hated using the pit, but he was dependent on them in order to keep himself immortal. The Demon's Head was somewhere between 600 and 700 years old now, he was so old that he was starting to lose count.

Immediately after emerging from the pit, a large, muscular man was at his side who kept his face hidden by a hood, was helping him out of the pit and was soon wrapping Ra's naked body in a richly decorated robe.

"Are you well, Master?" the man asked in concerned.

Judging by appearances Ra's was not okay. His pupils were dilated, and his breathing was ragged. Every time he used the Lazarus Pit Ra's ah Ghul could feel his sanity slipping away. He knew that one day he would lose his mind, and soon after that he would die.

This was why he had spent so much time and resources seeking out an heir. He needed someone capable of carrying on his great work once he was gone. Of course he was not going to simply accept death. Should things go to plan he might soon find away to transfer his own mind into a suitable body. He even had a candidate chosen for the honour.

"I am fine" Ra's said as he got himself fully under control.

Once the after effect of using the pit had passed and Ra's could walk on his own once more, the Demon's Head pulled away from his minion and made for the nearest exit.

He needed to rest for a while before dealing with any League of Shadows business.

(Line Break)

**Diner – Jump City – November 2002**

For the second time in two days I walked into the diner that had recently become my favourite place to go eat. I'd taken Kara here after that fight with Mongul and since then I'd come back here a few times. My most recent visit had been yesterday evening. I'd brought Ace here for some ice cream and now I was here once more so I could get something substantial to dine upon. I didn't have anyone to cook for me any more, and while I could actually prepare a meal I simply couldn't be bothered. As for the others well Blackfire was able to feed herself and as for Ace she needed to learn to fend for herself, at least when it came to making lunch.

There were other reasons for me to venture to this diner. For starters it was a nice place, it had a bit fifties nostalgia theme going for it. The other reason was the food was rather nice. They did burgers and hot dogs here that were vastly superior to the stuff fast food joints served.

"Hey handsome" called out a sexy female voice "take a seat. I'll be right with ya".

Another good reason to eat at this diner was Claire. She was a college student. She was also blonde, pretty, smarter than she let on and best of all she had the kind of smile that always made life seem a little brighter.

Claire was also one of the many people who I'd helped out as a Teen Titan. It hadn't been during some epic battle she was just someone I'd encountered during a solo patrol. A crook had grabbed her purse, but he hadn't gotten very far before I kicked him in the head. Nothing special about that even for me, but it had meant a lot to the college student.

I took a seat at an empty table and started to look over the menu. I was very hungry today, so I was tempted by the gut buster burger. If I still had to worry about things like cholesterol I'd never let something as unhealthy as a double cheese burger that came with bacon anywhere near my mouth, but I didn't have those kinds of concerns.

"So what will it be?" Claire the waitress asked when she got to my table.

I made my order and I noticed that the college student seemed to be a little less cheery than normal, she sounded more like a city girl when she was in a bad mood, so I asked her what was wrong.

"I was suppose to go out tonight, but my boyfriend just dumped me. I feel like such a loser" Claire explained.

That I could empathise with.

"My girlfriend just left me" I said to the waitress "so I know how exactly how you feel".

Technically Kara hadn't actually broken up as she was just in the future. Should everything go according to plan I would catch up with her in about a thousand years, so that we could try and settle down but it certainly felt like I'd been dumped.

"There's a lot of that going round" Claire then told me "even Debbie and Tim have been fighting".

That yet another reason why I sometimes came down here. Claire knew Deborah Benson aka Deadly Ballerina. The two of them had shared a dorm room so Claire was well aware that Debbie had, for a short time at least, been a Teen Titan. Which meant it was highly likely that she also that Tim Drake had been Robin. Claire never made any mention of it, but the connection was pretty clear. This connection also allowed me to keep tabs on the couple without actually having to spy on them.

"Fighting about what?" I causally inquired.

I made sure that I didn't sound too concerned, but truthfully I was rather worried about Tim's welfare.

"Nothing much" Claire answered "just couple stuff. I'm just worried they might break up".

That would be a shame as they'd always seemed happy together, and they were according to a reliable mind reader I knew. However couples sometimes break up. It's sad, but it happens.

"I'll get your food" the waitress said as she flashed me the smile that always got her a good tip "do you want coffee too?"

"Yes" I said to her.

With that the waitress touched her hair, brushing it out of her eyes before turning around and walking away. She then dropped her pen and bent over, and that gave me a chance to check out her ass. Which may have been why she had dropped the pen.

I could never tell if Claire actually liked me or if she flirted because I tipped well, and until now I hadn't really cared but if she had told me that she was single because she was hoping to snag a date for tonight then she was in luck as I did need a date for tonight.

When she got back to my table I decided to bite the bullet and just ask.

"Claire do you own a sexy black dress".

"Sure do" the blond waitress replied without delay "Why'd you want to know?"

If she read the papers she'd know what big event was happing this evening, and it might be the reason why she'd even mentioned not having a date to on this very night.

"I need someone gorgeous at my side tonight for a charity event" I told the waitress "it should be fun".

The student's smile told me her answer before she said anything.

"I'm free tonight. What time can you pick me up?"

(Line Break)

**Ra's al Ghul's Private Island – The Caribbean Sea - November 2002**

Hours later Ra's left his quarters, fully dressed now, with one of his guards following close behind. The Demon's Head had been about to enter his study when he heard the sound of an approaching helicopter.

Ra's al Ghul knew that Talia had returned from her 'secret rendezvous' with Gotham's Dark Knight. The daughter of the Demon's Head hadn't seen Bruce Wayne for more than nine months, and while normally a woman who had just given birth mere weeks ago were rarely interested in reacquainting with a past lover, there were advantages to using the Lazarus Pits and Talia was in love with the Batman. So it was no surprise for the centuries old man that his daughter had taken a trip to the Detective's city.

What was a shock for Ra's al Ghul was to see Talia storm out of the helicopter. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying. Normally she enjoyed her trips away from the island. Clearly this was not one of those times, and it was also obvious that the Dark Knight was still resistant to Talia's seduction attempts. Rumour had it that Batman had taken Wonder Woman as a lover, there was no proof but it would explain why Talia looked so heartbroken.

"Daughter, what is wrong? What happened?" Ra's asked.

He reached out in an attempt to halt her, but she brushed past him.

"Not now, Father. I wish to be alone" Talia replied.

Ra's made another attempt to make his daughter stop and talk to him, but his child was already walking away.

The Demon's Head stroked his chin thoughtfully as he thought about his daughter's life. Despite her best effort Talia was not going to be able to convince the Batman to marry her and become Ra's heir. Not that this was such an important task this days as Talia was already promised to a young man who potential surpassed that of Bruce Wayne, but it seemed that his daughter still had her heart set on the Batman. He would have to do something about this. It was time for his daughter to move on, and he knew just how to help her do that.

(Line Break)

**Charity Event – Jump City – November 2002**

"This is real fancy" Claire declared as we tried to navigate our way through the crowds of well dressed people.

Was surprised me was that neither of us looked that out of place. I'd rented a fancy suit and gone to a lot of effort, for a straight guy, to smarten myself up. Claire as promised did have a sexy black dress, and she looked great in it. I was no expert in women's fashion, but my keen observation skills told me that my date had somehow found the time to go to a hairdressers, and to get her make up done. Possible at the same place.

I also knew that she felt very out of place here, she was a country girl who had moved to Jump City in order to go to college and she worked as a waitress to help pay for her education. Sure she was intelligent, you could see it in her eyes, but she wouldn't be used to such events.

Of course neither was I despite the fact that I was rich and famous. Still I could fake being sophisticated easily enough. Blending in was just a matter of acting like you belonged. I smiled for the people with cameras and I gracefully swiped a couple of glasses of champagne from a passing waiter before handing on to Claire.

"I..I.. don't drink" she told me "I haven't turned twenty-one yet".

For the life of me I couldn't recall someone who actually refused free booze even if they weren't old enough to drink. Maybe she just didn't want to get drunk and embarrass herself.

"Just sip it" I instructed while taking her arm "You don't need to finish the glass, you just need to look as if you're having fun".

"I am having fun" Claire assured "this is all so great. I haven't had a ride in a limo since my prom".

For her it should be rather overwhelming. I could well imagine how wonderful all this would seem to be for her. A date at a very fancy party with a genuine super hero. Most women could only dream about this sort of thing, and now here she was living out that fantasy. No wonder she was smiling so much.

"So how much do you think you'll get" Claire asked me as we circulated the room.

I didn't know anyone here well enough to talk to them, but I did shake hands with mayor and the police chief as I had in the past attended meetings with the both.

"I have no idea" I told my date "I've never been to an event like this before. I just know that some members of the League have raised up to a million dollars".

Kara had thought half a million would be more than enough, but naturally she had been bias. I would consider myself lucky if anyone bid on me.

Although I might not have to worry given some of the looks I was getting. Even in my expensive clothing most people had no trouble recognising who I was. Which was odd as there was nothing remarkable about my features as far as I could see. Sure my dress sense got attention, but I might as well in a disguise right now.

It was then that I discovered that there was a blown up picture of me up on the stage. It wasn't that noticeable as the stage wasn't lit up, but I could see it well enough to know that it was something that had been taken at the recent convention.

Then I spotted a group of people, mostly middle aged women, who were hanging around a table near the stage. Upon closer inspection it turned out to a table about me. There were smaller pictures and what looked to be leaflets of some sort. I guessed them to be suggestions of what the highest bidder could do with me for the day.

"How does the auction work?" my date asked.

"Well there's two kind of events like this" I explained "the women super heroes have a silent auction. Everyone bids however much they want to give to the charity, and then one of the bids is selected as the winner. Kind of like a raffle".

At least that was how Kara had explained it.

"We men get auctioned off differently. I go up on stage and people bid on me. The highest bidder wins, and they get to spend the day with me doing whatever it is they wanna do or they get me to do something for them. But that's not until tomorrow".

It was like being sold into temporary slavery. The only reason why... actually I couldn't remember why I'd agreed to do this.

"If I had the money I'd bid for sure" Claire then told me.

That was sweet of her to say.

"You get to spend time with me for free" I reminded my date "in fact you get paid to talk to me".

And I tipped very well.

"Yeah, but that's work" pointed out Claire "this is way better".

My date was sounding more and more like a city girl every time I spoke to her. That was shame as her country girl accent was rather charming.

"It is" I agreed "you look wonderful by the way".

"Thanks" she replied "and you look very handsome".

Well she said that about me a lot.

"So are you the only guy hero being auctioned?" Claire inquired.

"In Jump City" I answered "this is the first super hero auction that's ever taken place here".

Which explained why part of the sign over the stage said 'first annual' and that made me wonder who they'd get for next year's event.

"But there's auctions going on all over the country" I added "Superman and the Flash do this every year".

"Excuse me, sir" said a voice from behind me.

I turned to see who had addressed me. It was gentlemen who was part of the events security. Hopefully this wasn't about the under-age drinking.

"You're needed backstage" the man then said "we're almost ready to begin".

I checked my watch and found that it was indeed time for the main event. I hadn't realised how quickly the evening was going by.

"Wish me luck" I requested of my date.

She did just that and that I was being escorted to the parts of the building visitors would not get to see.

"Excuse me sir" said a woman with a headset and a clipboard "did you bring your costume?"

"No" I replied "should I have?".

Had Kara been here she would of dealt with the details. She really had made life too easy for me.

"It's not a problem" the woman told me "we just had a dressing room set up for you. But if you don't need to prepare then we can get on with things. We're actually running late".

"Sorry" I apologised "I'm new to all of this I didn't know I was suppose to come backstage".

"That's quite aright sir" the organiser assured me "first time events such as this never run as smoothly as we'd like".

I was glad to know it wasn't my fault.

"Do you have a speech?" I was then asked.

"No" I said rather timidly.

"That's fine as well" the organising person assured "Now if you're ready I let the announcer know".

The woman spoke into a microphone and then guided me down a hallway.

That was when the stage lit up and my name was called out by an unseen voice. The organiser gestured so I walked onto the risen platform and tried not to squint when the spotlight hit me. The crowd wasn't as big as the one at the convention had been, but these weren't teenagers. These people were the crème da la crème of society here in Jump City, and if they didn't like me then it was the charity that would suffer. Then again maybe that didn't matter as I could always give them a big donation.

At least I wasn't alone on the stage this time. There was a professional looking man. He introduced me and people clapped their hands. I couldn't make out any faces in the crowd but if I focused it was possible to tell who was male and who was female. The auctioneer then went on very quickly explain the rules of the event, and the terms of the sale. Which no one cared about judging by the amount of pictures being taken.

"We will start the bidding at two thousand dollars" the auctioneer

Not very much considering how much an event like this must cost to set up. It was possible that the ticket prices would cover that, but I had a VIP pass which had allowed me to bring a guest and to get in for free so I had no idea how much people had paid just to get in here.

"Five thousand dollars" somewhat shouted out while waving a paddle.

"Six thousand" someone else said

"Eight thousand"

"Ten thousand"

How anyone could keep up with this bidding was beyond me. There were no pauses just people raising a coloured paddle and then shouting out a number.

"The highest bid is fifty thousand" The auctioneer announced. "Do I hear fifty one thousand"

That made my head spin a little. Someone was willing to pay fifty thousand dollars to spend the day with me.

"Fifty-two thousand" yelled out in a high-pitched voice.

I could just about make out a very effeminate man waving his hand in the air in a way that could be called camp.

"We have a bid for fifty-two thousand" announced the auctioneer "Do I hear fifty-three thousand".

"Sixty thousand" said a female voice towards the back.

I knew that voice from somewhere, but I couldn't quite place it.

"One hundred thousand dollars" said a foreign voice that also sounded a little familiar.

That bid made everyone gasp, and I could well understand why. A hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money to me and I was a millionaire. Whoever had made that bid was either insanely rich or I had fan who was about to put themselves into a lot of debt.

I then spotted the auctioneer talking into the headset. I guessed that he was getting some sort of confirmation on that bid. Sure Jump City had a few citizens who could throw around that amount of money, but the staff here had to find out if this woman was one of them before confirming the bid.

"That's one hundred thousand going once."

Apparently the bidder had the money. Whoever she was, she had to not only wealthy but they also had to be a big fan.

"One hundred thousand going twice"

No one so much as moved their head.

"Sold to Miss Talia al Ghul" said the auctioneer.

Ah hell. It just had to be her.

(Line Break)

**Charity Event – Jump City – November 2002**

I was directed by the organiser to go and find the women who had won me in the bidding. It wasn't hard to pick Talia out as she was gorgeous in ways few women could be.

"What a vision you are, Thief. I can see why my beloved would amuse himself with you".

There she was: Talia Al Ghul, looking impossibly arrogant, composed – and cool. Her outfit was exquisite and not a hair on her head was out of place, she even smelled good. She bound to make Claire feel ugly and worthless in comparison.

What made it worse was that the woman Talia was taking to was none other than Selena Kyle. She been the one to bring the bidding up to seventy thousands dollars, and if anything she looked even more fabulous than Talia. Although that could be because of the breasts. Like Kara's boobs. Selena's seemed too awesome to be possible, she had to be a meta-human of some sort.

"Did you hear me, Thief?" the future wife then said.

I made no attempt to interrupt this 'conversation' I knew I could take Selena down if I had to, but she was no killer. Talia al Ghul was far more deadly. Plus she would have bodyguards nearby. So trying to break up this argument could end up getting people killed.

Miss Kyle didn't seem so concerned as rather than reply, Selena laughed.

"You dare laugh at me, Thief. Tell me what you find so amusing" Talia demanded to know.

I also wished to know, as I'd missed the start of this fight.

"You what to know I was thinking" replied Catwoman "I was thinking that you're not very good at this. I guess when you were growing up nobody ever dared to disagree with you, or god forbid deny you something you really wanted".

Or in layman's terms. Selena had just called Talia spoiled brat.

"I bet you never had any competition when you went after a man either" Selena then added.

"You may insult me all you like" the daughter of the Demon's Head then said "but you can never come between my beloved and I. We are destined for each other. He is chosen above all men to continue the great work of my father".

I assumed that they were talking about Bruce Wayne rather than myself.

"It's like your staring in your own Euripides play" Selena mocked.

By that I assumed she was implying that the romance between Talia and Bruce was going to end in catastrophe as Euripides had been a play write in Ancient Greece who was known for writing tragedies.

"You ridicule matters of great importance and you flatter yourself into thinking that you are dear to him? He is a man, he found you pleasing, so what. Now that he's had you, what can you possibly offer him?"

I wondered if this was going to become one of those hissing-scratching-hairpulling sideshows were overdressed women knock each other into swimming pools. If so I hoped there dresses became transparent or at least badly torn up.

"You are nothing special. You were just some passing amusement, a conquest. Nothing more" Talia then added.

Knowing Batman as I did I knew that wasn't that simple. The Dark Knight had real affection for Catwoman. He was just to obsessed with his crime fighting to grab a good thing when it came his way.

"Let me tell you something. I think it's really sweet that you're so protective and committed to a relationship that doesn't even exist. It says a lot about you".

Yeah that she was a nutjob.

"Ladies is this really the time or the place to be talking about _him_?"

I wanted to make it clear that they weren't talking about me because people were listening. They were acting like they weren't but I could tell by the lack of background noise that everyone was paying attention.

"Who?" asked Selena before understanding my question "no we were talking about you".

"Huh?" was my well thought out reply.

"I shall see you in the morning" said Talia as she moved to leave "until then beloved".

Oh this so had to be some evil plan of Ra's al Ghuls. That or Batman really was sleeping with Wonder Woman and these two had decided to get themselves another dark haired hero to obsess over. Maybe to make try to and make Bruce Wayne jealous. Well I could believe that of Selena but for Talia this had to be some al Ghul family scheme.

"Please take me home" Claire then asked while tugging on my hand "I really don't want to stay here".

That I agreed with so I took my date home.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

As I entered my bedroom I started to take off the rented outfit only to stop when I sensed a presence. I had no idea what it was that tipped me off, but I just knew that someone was lying on my bed.

"Don't stop" said Selena Kyle "I was enjoying the view".

I sighed as I hung the jacket of the suit.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

I might of asked 'how did you find me?' but this was Catwoman. You don't get to be master thief if you don't know a safe house when you see it.

"I was thinking that maybe I've been backing the wrong horse all these years. If Bruce is too old and set in his ways to be any fun, maybe someone a little younger—someone a lot more virile. Just for sex you understand I'm not into settling down".

"So you were willing to spend seventy thousand dollars on a booty call?" I questioned as I undid my tie.

Thinking that flattered me, but it also made me feel a bit dirty. I was like a very expensive whore.

"Well that was just get your attention" Selena confessed while I stared into her emerald green eyes "I was hoping for a friend's with benefits deal".

Tempting but I had promised not to bring any one night stands back home. Not that I had as she'd come here uninvited

"You can spank me" Selena then offered "as much as you want".

"Does everyone know about my perversions?" I asked myself.

"You just look the type" Catwoman said before admitting the truth " and it's on your fan site"

I watched as Selena got up off the bed and then she let her dress fall to the floor. Which left her dressed only in her a pair of panties that look small enough to be accidentally inhaled. If she had been wearing a bra at the even earlier it was long gone now.

"Something wrong, handsome?"

Hearing her call me that reminded me that Claire didn't want a second date. Not that I could blame her. I had some really scary women in my life.

"No..." I lied.

There was a lot wrong.

"Tell me about it" Selena requested "maybe I can help".

I highly doubted that she could help, but I told her about my problems, to my amazement she had an answer.

"If you can't protect her you need to send her away. It's not a nice thing to do, but you have to do what is best for your friends.

That actually made a lot of sense. Ace might go and live in the Watchtower if I asked her to or maybe I could talk to the League and she if they had anywhere to stash her. It wouldn't have to be forever. This trouble with CADMUS should be over soon. I suspected that because they'd been to quiet recently. It meant that they were building up to something big.

"And as for your other room mate, you should just start dating her" Catwoman then advised "and you can see me on the side".

That shocked me to hear, but I didn't judge Selena badly for suggesting it. I was already planning to start shagging the witch Tala so I could get her to teach me more magic. I had no intention of settling down with one girl from now on as the Traveller didn't seem to like that. In fact if I did try to devote myself to one woman I might actually be putting them in danger as it wouldn't surprise me if my jerk of a patron had a hand in sending Kara to the future a year early.

Said out loud it would sound like a justification, but if I told Blackfire why I was never going to be loyal she could simply accept it or decide that she didn't want to date me. The choice would be hears to make. I actually found myself hoping she'd say yes I wouldn't ask Fire to go out without me just yet. I didn't want a girlfriend just yet but it would be nice to date someone who wouldn't get scared off so easily. Plus I felt the need to be with someone I was feeling a little lonely.

"I guess I could do that" I said to Selena.

I'd always had trouble saying no to naked, or nearly naked women.

"I should go soon" Selena then said.

It was pretty late, and I had to be up early tomorrow. However rather than get dressed she actually got closer to me.

"Would you like a titfuck?" she then asked me.

She didn't wait for an answer and instead got down on her knees in front of me before going on to get my cock out. Which disappeared almost entirely between the two mounds of flesh. She then started to move up and down rather quickly which felt just great.

"Do you like me on my knees?" Catwoman inquired.

I just nodded. She most know I had a thing for powerful women who acted as if I was worthy of practically being worshipped.

"I like being on my knees" she then said.

Her speed increased and already I could feel myself just waiting to explode all over her giant boobs.

"I'm…going to cum" I managed say

"Please cum" Selena said while giving me a very sexy look with her eyes "cum for me. All over me".

Which I did. Those eyes were hard to refuse.


End file.
